Utah Jazz: What to watch for during the preseason
By John Keeffer
Will the Jazz pick up the pace?
One of the most reoccurring questions of this off-season for the Utah Jazz has centered around their offense. Nobody is doubting the dominant defense that they are going to be putting on the floor each night, but people are questioning if they can score enough to support that defense.
It is a valid question, as last season the Jazz ran at the slowest pace in the league, and routinely were taking shots with only a few seconds left on the shot clock. That worked with Gordon Hayward and George Hill, but will be hard without them.
I don’t think the offensive situation is as dire as people are making it out to be. With players like Rodney Hood, a healthy Derrick Favors, Joe Ingles, Joe Johnson, Alec Burks, Donovan Mitchell, a passer like Ricky Rubio and a finisher like Rudy Gobert, the Jazz have offensive weapons.
In order to have a top 20 offensive rating though, they will need to pick up the pace. Off of defensive rebounds, will they push the pace and look to see if they can get a quick open basket? When they create turnovers, will they convert those into fast-break points?
With Ricky Rubio in the fold, I am hoping that that is the case. He is an elite passer, and terrific at running the fast break and finding the open man.
At the one minute mark of the video above, you’ll see what I am talking about. Rubio pulls down a rebound off of a missed basket, but then immediately throws a full court pass to a streaking Joe Ingles (Who dunked it! What?!)
That is what I am going to be watching for during the preseason. I suspect the actual half court offense is going to be the same. Perhaps Quin throws in some more pick n’ roll because of Rubio’s elite passing, but for the most part it will be a ball movement offense where we shoot later in the shot clock.
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Jazz fans should watch to see if they looked to push the pace more, to see if they run not just off of turnovers, but if they look to run after defensive rebounds. This will lead to easier points and increased possessions for the offense to score.