Rodney Hood, a fourth year pro out of Duke, is the second leading scorer on the Utah Jazz who has been slumping as of late.
Dear Rodney Hood,
You probably didn’t grow up a fan of the Utah Jazz. You’ve been here long enough to learn some history, but you’ve never experienced this team as a fan.
Jazz fans are spoiled
When you were just a kid, the Utah Jazz were a dominant force. For well over a decade, and nearly two decades, the Jazz were in the playoffs. In fact, through the 90s, the Utah Jazz have the second most wins of any other NBA team besides the Chicago Bulls. The Jazz had 542 wins in the 90s and the Bulls had 558.
This team was led by three key Hall of Famers. John Stockton, the all-time leader in steals AND assists. Karl Malone, the second most points scored of all-time. And Jerry Sloan as the head coach.
Times were good in Jazz-land for almost 20 years. You could casually watch a game, never worrying that your team might lose. Quite the opposite, you always figured they would win. There were only a couple sour spots, and the most famous of these are the “Michael Jordan pushed off” game and MJ’s historic “flu game” that sealed championships for the Bulls in consecutive years.
After Stockton and Malone had left, forever immortalized by statued likenesses outside the arena formerly known as the Delta Center, the Jazz missed the playoffs for three straight years. It was tough. After so many years of having a great team, it was hard to watch them lose.
Jerry Sloan was still here, of course, when Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur helped the Jazz secure a playoff berth once again. The Jazz were good again. The passion of the 90s was back. Fans held high hopes in their new point guard. DWill was considered the best point guard in the league.
Suddenly, disaster struck (twice)
After several years of success and playoff victories, Jerry Sloan resigned mid-season and Deron Williams was traded. Other prominent pieces were allowed to walk in free agency and the first real re-build for the Utah Jazz was in progress.
Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward, Dante Exum, and you, Rodney. These were the names of the future. Rudy Gobert was a diamond in the rough that emerged to his best self last season. And finally, the Jazz were in the playoffs once more.
With a true talented young core and a genius head coach, the Jazz were poised to have another solid decade-long run at the playoffs. Rodney Hood, the sharpshooting guard who once made 8-of-9 from three-point range with Kobe Bryant putting a hand in your face, was in a perfect position to succeed. With the Gordon-Gobert pick and roll to pull in defenders, you could feast from the corner three-point shot.
We, as fans, were in bliss. After 7 years, it felt so good to taste the playoffs again. There is nothing sweeter.
With a splash of water and a slap in the face, those hopes were dashed by Gordon Hayward. Fans who had mostly seen loyalty from players who chose to stay in Utah for decades, got their first real glimpse of a player, nearly as beloved as those two statues, going elsewhere in his prime.
But fresh in the face of a glorious first round victory over the LA Clippers, we still had hope. We believed in this team. We believed in Rodney Hood, who could fill in as a lead scorer. There was still a chance.
For the past 42 games, we as fans have had to come to grips with reality. We are missing our established scorer, Gordon. We’re missing our leader and the identity of the team, Rudy. Being “the guy” is new to you. We understand.
You’ve been so good to us in the two and a half years we’ve had you. It’s not fair for us to expect you to be Gordon Hayward as a 7th year player when you are only in your 4th season. There’s still time.
The boos were not for you
Those fans who booed you in Monday’s loss to the Indiana Pacers were not really booing you. They were booing the bitterness of finally realizing that this year the playoffs were perhaps not meant to be. They were booing the fact that after getting a small taste of success once again, it may not be in the cards this year, after all.
They were booing Gordon Hayward for leaving us (and you) high and dry. The boos were not meant for you. They were outcries from fans who have been spoiled by an incredible organization for the near-entirety of it’s existence.
No, Rodney, you did not deserve the boos. We, the selfish, entitled, spoiled fans deserve the boos. Fans of the Utah Jazz should be better than this. The organization that we claim puts family and community first. We want to win, but we need to win the right way. By supporting you as a player.
Next: Utah Jazz: After uninspiring start to season, what should be the goal now?
There’s still time for us to get this right. We can support you through your growth while Rudy heals and Donovan Mitchell blossoms. There’s still room for you in this young core. We need you to succeed.
I can’t stop frustrated fans from booing, but I can ask you to give us another chance. And remember, the boos were not for you.