Prediction #3: Utah Jazz embrace small ball
Once more for the people in the back: Utah Jazz fans don’t need to worry about their squad’s middling offensive rating two games into the 2021-22 season. Last season, the Jazzmen finished fourth in the NBA in Offensive Rating at 116.5 despite almost exclusively running lineups with a conventional big. They’ll get closer to that mark this season whether they embrace small ball or not.
That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t, or won’t, give it a chance. The Jazz had tremendous success running a wing player at the 4 spot last season between Bojan Bogdanovic and Royce O’Neale. It seems unlikely that they brought both Rudy Gay and Eric Paschall into the fold this offseason to add bulk at that position.
Plus, it is worth monitoring whether the team’s offense progresses to the levels it reached last season. As it stands, Snyder is playing a traditional big man at the 5 spot for 48 minutes a contest between Rudy Gobert and Hassan Whiteside. It seems overwhelmingly likely that this offense would benefit from an injection of floor-spacing at that position.
We’ve written extensively about the Utah Jazz improving their defensive versatility with the addition of the two small-ball 5s. It may end up being the case that their biggest benefit to the Utah Jazz actually comes on the offensive end.
The Utah Jazz have began the 2021-22 season at 2-0, and yet they still have ample opportunity to improve. Fans in Salt Lake City should be absolutely celebrating that fact. If these 3 predictions come true, they may pay dividends towards ensuring that improvement.