Utah Jazz: the three most unsung heroes of this season

Georges Niang

Another unsung hero of the 2019-20 season is Georges Niang. I wasn’t a big fan of Niang before the season started, I just assumed he would give us mop-up minutes and emergency depth in case of an injury.

But in his second full season as Jazzman, Niang has held his own in the rotation. There were only six games in which he sat due to coach’s decision, and it became clear to me in early December that he was the priority over Dante Exum.

As our very own Lucas Miller pointed out, Niang has emerged at just the perfect time the Jazz bench needed him to. Here are his splits from before and after the Jazz waived Jeff Green:

Before: 4.5 points, 1.7 rebounds, 46 percent FG%, 41 percent 3pt%, 11.7 minutes per game

After: 8.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, 50 percent FG%, 54 percent 3pt%, 15.9 minutes per game

Dennis Lindsey explained to the media that part of the reason they felt comfortable waiving Green was so they could open up more minutes for Niang to play his natural position of power forward. Day after day it is looking like the Jazz front office was right on the money with that one.

https://twitter.com/utahjazz/status/1213656915453960193

In Utah’s latest win over the Orlando Magic, it was Niang that led all bench scorers with 15 points in just 16 short minutes. During the course of his Jazz career, Niang has been patient rather than demanding his minutes, and makes the most of his opportunities.

When a player of Niang’s caliber emerges from the bottom of the depth chart, it’s always a pleasant surprise for all parties, especially for a team hoping to make a long playoff run. Speaking of which, this next player was once just a training camp invite.