Utah Jazz minutia: A by-the-numbers look at the 2017-18 season
By Ryan Aston
Minus-10: Opposing players’ field goal percentage differential when guarded by reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert within six feet of the basket.
2: The number of games the Jazz lost from January 24 to March 17. One could argue that no team was better during this stretch.
3.5: Ingles’ real plus/minus score, which ranked 25th league-wide last season and fifth among small forwards, just 0.11 behind Kevin Durant. The Ingles effect is real.
6.2: Gobert’s league-leading average of screen assists per game. His value offensively may not be immediately obvious to the layman, but it is sizable.
8: Gobert’s team-leading number of technical fouls. You won’t like him when he’s angry.
10.9: Backup point-man Raul Neto’s net rating over 41 games; the best number among Jazz rotation regulars. Clearly, he makes good things happen on the floor whenever he’s called upon.
11: Utah’s longest winning streak overall, which began on January 24 with an OT win over the Detroit Pistons. They wouldn’t lose again until February 23 against the Portland Trail Blazers.
12: The Jazz’s incredible road win streak that came in the new year and, arguably, the most impressive number the team logged all year.
16.8: Ricky Rubio’s scoring average over the last 15 games of the 2017-18 campaign. If he can maintain his second-half pace from last season, talk of the Jazz as the West’s No. 2 in 2019 may not be unfounded.
17: The number of G-League assignments for center Tony Bradley during a developmental rookie season. I expect he’ll get more on-the-court experience with the Jazz next season.