5) Ekpe Udoh and Thabo Sefolosha emerge
So, to say that Utah’s offseason didn’t go as planned would be putting it mildly. In fact, losing Gordon Hayward more or less derailed a rebuild several years in the making.
In an effort to course correct following Hayward’s departure, the Jazz inked multiple veteran free agents. Two of them — big man Ekpe Udoh and guard-forward Thabo Sefolosha — have been excellent.
Despite being more than a decade in with his pro career, Sefolosha has been as good as ever. Through 12 games, he’s averaging seven points per game on better than 50 percent from the field. He also continues to provide high-level defense.
Meanwhile, Ekpe Udoh has come out of nowhere to be one of the league’s best defenders off the bench. His block rate of 10.6 percent would lead the league if he qualified to do so.
Where breaking this down into a moment is concerned, I think we need to look at Utah’s win over the Denver Nuggets to open the season. In that game, Udoh and Sefolosha were a combined plus-49 when on the floor to fuel the comeback win. Udoh, in particular, stole the show with three blocked shots.
Next: No. 4