Player of the Week: Preseason Week 3

Finally, the preseason is over! While I actually enjoy the preseason, it sure will be nice to get back to watching AND writing about real basketball again. That being said I still have this post, and a player of the preseason post coming up, so stay tuned.

Paul Millsap

Weekly Line: 8.5 PPG (41%), 4.5 RPG, 1.5 APG (.5 TOs), .5 BPG, 3 SPG, -1 +/- (19 MINS)

Well, Paul definitely didn't have a spectacular week, but like I've been saying in all my posts, it's preseason, I'm not going to worry about the vets. His only stat that stands out would be his steals, where he led the team with 3 per game. This was probably his biggest improvement last season and should give the Jazz a lot of fast break opportunities this season, especially with this new uptempo offense.

Al Jefferson

Weekly Line: 14.5 PPG (55%), 6.5 RPG, 3.5 APG (2 TOs), 0 BPG, 1 SPG, -4 +/- (23.5 MINS)

Last week was definitely Al's best week of the preseason. It was nice to see his shooting percentages (and all of his numbers for the most part) go up as the preseason wore on (He went from shooting 39% to 45% and finishing strong at 55%). He had a great week dishing out that ball, finishing fourth on the team with 3.5 assists. Last year Jefferson averaged 2.2 dimes, a career high. Does he set a new personal best this season?

Gordon Hayward

Weekly Line: 9 PPG (67%), .5 RPG, 2 APG (3 TOs), 0 BPG, 0 SPG, -4 +/- (21.5 MINS)

Quite the empty stat line for Hayward, who we usually expect to fill it up. Combine his steals, blocks, and rebounds from the last two games and you get 1. On the bright side he did shoot very well, although he only took 9 shots. That is one thing [the not shooting as much thing] that I have noticed about Hayward. Turns out he is averaging 7.2 attempts so far, while last year he averaged 8.8. I'm willing to bet that his increased trips to the free throw line (FG attempt doesn't count if you're fouled on a shot you miss) and the fact that it's preseason are part of the reason his shooting attempts are down. All I know is that I want us to see Aggressive Hayward this year, and not the Disappearing Hayward.

Marvin Williams

Weekly Line: 7.5 PPG (50%), 1.5 RPG, .5 APG (.5 TOs), .5 BPG, 1 SPG, -3.5 +/- (23.5 MINS)

Marvin didn't show us much this past week but he didn't really need to. Williams already has shown us that he is going to bring shooting, athleticism, and size to this team. He was our best shooter from deep this preseason (57%) and has a good chance at leading the team this season. It will be fun to see how well he fits once we get the regular season started.

Jamaal Tinsley

Weekly Line: 0 PPG (0%), 1 RPG, 4.5 APG (2.5 TOs), 0 BPG, 2.5 SPG, -1.5 +/- (15.5 MINS)

Not a whole ton to write about Tinsley. His shooting was terrible for the second straight week (He did have a good first week, shooting 60%) and that will likely be the case for most of the season. Thankfully we don't need him to score, we need him to run the offense for the bench, and I think he has shown that for the most part. Remember, he could be out of a backup job if Earl can earn it back (when he gets healthy).

Derrick Favors

Weekly Line: 16.5 PPG (57%), 6 RPG, .5 APG (1.5 TOs), 1.5 BPG, 2.5 SPG, -2.5 +/- (25 MINS)

Favors looked the best he has all preseason last week, on both offense and defense. He led the Jazz in blocks, and was second in steals, and points and just simply looked a whole lot better. The rebounds are still down though, which can concern me, since that sometimes points to effort. Then again he has been playing the majority of his minutes with Kanter, who doesn't exactly like to share his boards.

Enes Kanter

Weekly Line: 19.5 PPG (75%), 9 RPG, 0 APG (1.5 TOs), .5 BPG, 1 SPG, +2 +/- (23.5 MINS)

Wow, yet another fantastic week for Enes. He shot a scorching 75% from the field (15/20) and led the team in both scoring and rebounding. I know it is preseason, but he nearly averaged 20/10 in just over 20 minutes, that is crazy. If he keeps this play up, he might just play his way into a Most Improved Player award.

Randy Foye

Weekly Line: 6 PPG (42%), 1.5 RPG, 4 APG (1.5 TOs), 0 BPG, 1 SPG, +.5 +/- (22 MINS)

Foye still hasn't shown he can consistently be a major contributor to this team (he did have that one 17 point game in week 2) which might bring memories of CJ Miles to some. Then again, with the depth the Jazz have on this roster, can we realistically expect him to score big off the bench? Probably not. The key is not being terrible when he isn't being awesome. Don't be all or nothing, find an in between. I really like the 4 APG, which partly comes from his play at the back up pg.

DeMarre Carroll

Weekly Line: 1.5 PPG (11%), 1.5 RPG, 1 APG (1.5 TOs), 0 BPG, 2.5 SPG, -4 +/- (19.5 MINS)

Rough week for DeMarre. Carroll's dismal 11% shooting was good enough to be second worse on the team and besides his steals, he didn't make much of an impact. DMC is by far one of my favorite players on the Jazz, but he really needs to make strides on both sides of the ball if he wants good minutes, this roster is just to deep.

Alec Burks

Weekly Line: 11.5 PPG (50%), 4.5 RPG, 1.5 APG (2.5 TOs), 0.5 BPG, 0 SPG, +7.5 +/- (21.5 MINS)

Another solid week for Burks. Like I said last week, Burks could become a pretty good rebounding guard. He averaged 4.5 this week which = 7.5 per 36! While I doubt he'll ever average that many, anything close to it would obviously be awesome. Burks also looked good offensively, like usual. Burks started the preseason behind Foye on the depth chart, where will he be on it his Wednesday?

Players who didn't play (very much): Earl Watson, Jeremy Evans, Kevin Murphy, Mo Williams

I didn't have much trouble on deciding this week's winner.

Player of the Week

via cdn0.sbnation.com

Enes Kanter: 19.5 PPG (75%), 9 RPG, 0 APG (1.5 TOs), .5 BPG, 1 SPG, +2 +/- (23.5 MINS)

Runner up: Derrick Favors

Special Mention(s): Al Jefferson, Alec Burks