A few key players step up their scoring averages
This one seems obvious. So you’re saying if other players score more, it will make up the void left by Hayward and Hill?? Genius!
Here’s the point: regardless of talent, there are roughly 180-200 possessions per game, or 90-100 per team, per teamrankings.com. The Jazz were last in the league last season, but still ran at 94.7 possessions per game. It’s not rocket science. Those possessions are going to be there, and the Jazz are going to get shots up.
So those 28.2 shots per game that Hayward and Hill were taking aren’t just going to disappear. They will likely be dispersed throughout the team, which in turn will raise the scoring average of multiple players. Here are my projections below —
With the loss of Hayward (21.9 ppg), and Hill (16.9 ppg), multiple Jazz players are primed to make a jump in ppg. My projections are below: pic.twitter.com/wacAPmcXHG
— John Keeffer (@john_keeffer) August 19, 2017
With that many opportunities, and the quality roster that the Jazz have, getting to 96 points should not be difficult. They have to make up 38 points between Hayward and Hill, but multiple players should be able to take a step forward in order to help them get there.
Specifically, I expect Rodney Hood and Derrick Favors to make the biggest jump based on health and volume. Both players were capable of making a jump last season, but inconsistent play due to injuries derailed their seasons.
With Favors, it’s not hard to envision because he has done it before. From 2014-2016, he was consistently averaging 16 points, eight rebounds, 1.5 blocks and one steal per game. If healthy, and with a larger workload, it’s easy to envision Favors at the very least matching those numbers. I wouldn’t be surprised if he posted an 18-9 line over the course of the season.
With Hood, we are basing our projections mainly on the eye test. More than any other player on this Jazz roster, he is capable of being a 20-point scorer this next season. He will need to be more aggressive and get to the line far more often (he averaged just two FTA per game last season), but he has the skill set to make it happen.
He is very versatile offensively. He can hit spot-up threes, can pull up off the dribble out to the 3-point line and can can post up smaller players. The only weak point in his offensive game is his ability to get to the basket and create contact.
If you give Hood six additional shot attempts and three more free throw attempts per game, him getting to 20 ppg is not a stretch. I imagine he settles somewhat below that in his first full year as “The Guy,” but if healthy and motivated, we could see big things from Mr. Hood.