Happy Birthday to Utah Jazz forward Derrick Favors

Happy Birthday to Utah Jazz bigman Derrick Favors! Favors turns 25 years old today! (Years young?) And while we do want to wish him the best, as the young father of twin girls, we also want to wish him some quiet time for an extra long nap today as well. Similar to fellow July 15th Birthday Jazzmen (John Crotty and Stephen Howard), Favors played for the Jazz as a rookie. He wasn't drafted by them (Round 1, Pick #3, 2010), but was traded for during the season (adios Deron Williams)! Since that point in time he has logged over 10,000 minutes over six seasons with the team.

Unlike Crotty and Howard, Favors is a starter. And unlike those two, he hasn't seen much of the playoffs (only 4 games, but 116 minutes). But I think we're going to see him be one of the biggest reasons why the team makes it back to the NBA Playoffs this year. He has increased his scoring average every year in the league, 6.8 to 8.8 to 9.4 to 13.3 to 16.0 to 16.4 ppg. And with a few more touches, a little faster pace of play, I think we can see that trend continue in 2016-17. Derrick isn't just a stats guy, he makes winning plays on the court on both ends. And he works on his game. In a New Jersey Nets uniform he shot .595 from the free throw line. Last season? He was much better, making .709 from the stripe.

Not from the most recent season, but good mix of what he can do

Derrick is entering his prime right now, and the raw bigman who entered the league as a teenager is a man old enough to finally rent a car without any restrictions. (The true display of adulthood.) There are other bigs in the league who get more publicity. But when Derrick is getting big boards in the NBA Playoffs this year while other guys with higher profiles are watching on TV, I don't think he'll care.