Utah Jazz best potential lineup: PG: Mike Conley SG: Donovan Mitchell SF: Joe Ingles PF: Royce O’Neale C: Rudy Gobert
Sometimes, the devil you know is the one you want by your side. Foes of the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference know this devil of a lineup all-too-well.
This formation saw substantial time for Quin Snyder last season, and the results were awe-inspiring. They ranked in the 99th percentile across the NBA last season in both points differential-per-100 possessions (42.2) and points-per-100 possessions (141.4) per CleaningtheGlass.
No, that’s not a typo. This group scored 141.4 points-per-100 possessions.
The floor balance this group provides puts those numbers in a believable context. The Utah Jazz get the best of all possible worlds in this lineup, as Conley Jr and Ingles provide ample playmaking, Mitchell provides a wallop of a scoring punch, and O’Neale and Gobert provide a lethal defensive tandem.
It may not be the starting lineup, which would likely feature Bojan Bogdanovic in place of Joe Ingles. However, the Jazz’s starting unit actually faired nowhere near as well as this group last season, placing in the 74th percentile in points differential-per-100 possessions (one more time: per CleaningtheGlass).
That’s still a decent performance, particularly for the Utah Jazz grouping that probably faced the stiffest competition. However, it seems likely that Ingles’ vastly superior playmaking and defense plus narrowly superior floor spacing outweighed the pure scoring ability that Bogey brings to the table last season.
These lineups run a gambit from conventional, to unorthodox, to downright unlikely. However, we’ll be hoping that Quin Snyder is at least willing to experiment next season. The Utah Jazz have too much versatility and depth in the roster for him not to.