Number Five
Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, Rudy Gobert, 2014-16
Playoff Appearances: Zero
All-Stars: Zero
Let me introduce you to the first “bad” trio of this slideshow, one that failed to make the playoffs in both seasons they were shining as the three best players on the team.
Rudy Gobert made a huge impact in whatever playing time he could scrounge up early in the 2014-15 season. It was crystal clear he needed to be playing starters’ minutes and once that opportunity opened up, the Jazz went 19-10 to finish the season.
Their net rating during the 2015-16 season suggests they were as good as a playoff team and suggests that they underachieved in the win column only making it to 40 wins on the season.
Gordon Hayward was the top-scoring option during this time getting 19 points per game while playing solid defense, grabbing rebounds, and being the main distributor on offense since the Jazz were playing Russian Roulette with the starting point guard job.
Derrick Favors was developing into a beastly pick and roll finisher while maintaining elite interior defense and underrated ability to guard smaller players on the perimeter. His midrange shot was also getting better with time.
This team pushed the juggernaut Golden State Warriors to the brink of defeat on several occasions in thrilling games at the Vivint Smart Home Arena, due to their old-fashioned style of play with two bigs on the floor and a snail’s pace of play.
This trio may not have had very much success, but they knew their identity as the world’s worst dentist with slow, painful, and agonizing play to wear down their opponents.