Fringe Rotation Pieces
Dante Exum- a more deadly jumper
This Christmas Dante Exum should be wishing for a better jumpshot. If he can rely more on his outside jumper to create offense he will put himself at less of a risk of getting hurt. The San Antonio Spurs showed us during their finals run earlier this decade that you can never have too many shooters, which is why fringe NBA talent guys like Matt Bonner have found roster spots on playoff teams.
Currently Dante Exum has lost the last rotation spot to Georges Niang, and the only real edge that Niang has over Exum is outside shooting. Exum has a better handle, better defense, and better playmaking skills. If he can close the gap in outside shooting, he will be making an incredible case for more playing time.
Tony Bradley- better defensive I.Q
Recently Tony Bradley has been earning recognition for his improved play. First off, the Jazz extended the team option to keep Bradley through his fourth year in a Jazz uniform. After filling in while Ed Davis missed 12 games, the NBA 2k team upped Bradley’s overall rating by five points, the best improvement of any Jazz player this year. Then recently in an article by Bleacher Report, Bradley was dubbed as the Jazz’s most surprising breakthrough player this season.
Much of that was because he was able to score easy points in the paint for the Jazz in limited minutes. His numbers per 100 possessions are pretty high because he can grab offensive rebounds and stick back easy shots. The biggest flaw to Bradley’s game is his defense.
The Jazz defense could not stop anyone with Bradley in the middle. When opposing players penetrate the paint, Bradley will hold his arms stiff in the air, failing to contest shots properly, and oftentimes losing the box-out for the defensive rebound. Even Ed Davis‘ strategy of stripping players while they’re going up for the shot has worked better than Bradley’s rim protection.
If Bradley can improve his awareness, timing, and footwork defensively that will go a long ways for the Jazz and for Bradley’s development.
Georges Niang- defensive chemistry
Georges Niang shot 52 percent from the three point line with the Salt Lake City Stars two seasons ago, and currently shoots 39 percent on the season in real NBA competition.
It’s clear that that weapon is at an NBA level, but every other faucet of his game needs refining. His handle needs to tighten up, his body could use some better conditioning, and he’s not the best defender.
Fortunately for Niang the Jazz are able to hide players defensive weaknesses if they learn how to play defense with Rudy Gobert. When Niang has played with the Jazz starters there hasn’t been the same familiarity as when Conley is in there. Georges sometimes overdoes it on the help defense, leaving his man wide open; other times the communication is slow when he’s switching on defensive assignments.
With Mike Conley being out for the next several weeks, this is an opportunity for Niang to develop his game and defensive chemistry with the Jazz’s starters. If he improves that then Utah has a chance to move up to fifth in the Western Conference in the next few weeks.