Utah Jazz Season Split: Games 11-20

I forget how much of a roller coaster an NBA season can be. We as Utah Jazz fans sure move from one end of the spectrum to the other pretty quickly. After a 4 game losing streak, there were “blow it up” comments, “fire Quin Snyder” comments, amongst others considerably negative.

Then we won 4 games by an average margin of 20 points and were all reminded of how good this team can be. After 20 games we sat at 11-9, good for 7th in the West. Let’s take a closer statistical look at games 11-20 of the season.

Game Results:

• @ Miami Heat- W 102-91
• vs. Memphis Grizzlies- L 96-102
• vs. Chicago Bulls- L 77-85
• @ Houston Rockets- L 102-111
• @ Denver Nuggets- L 91-105
• vs. Denver Nuggets- W 108-83
• vs. Atlanta Hawks- W 95-68
• @ Minnesota Timberwolves- W 112-103
• vs. Houston Rockets- W 120-101
• vs. Miami Heat- L 110-111

Team Stats and Rankings

• Offensive Rating: 110.4 (6th)— Season: 107.2 (8th)
• Defensive Rating: 102.1 (9th)— Season: 100.9 (3rd)
• Net Rating: 8.2 (2nd)— Season: 6.3 (4th)
• Pace: 92.87 (29th)— Season: 93.18 (30th)
• Effective FG%: 53.7 (7th)-- Season: 52.4 (5th)
• FT%: 79.7 (9th)— Season: 77.2 (16th)
• 3pt%:35.1 (17th)— Season: 35.7 (11th)
• Reb%: 50.6 (10th)— Season: 50.7 (6th)
• Ast%: 48.1 (29th)— Season: 50.8 (28th)
• Blocks: 5.3 (11th)— Season: 5.3 (12th)

Player Statistics:

5 Most Used Lineups:

1. 57 minutes- George Hill, Rodney Hood, Gordon Hayward, Boris Diaw, Rudy Gobert- 119.4 ORtg, 94.6 DRtg, +31 overall
2. 34 minutes- Dante Exum, Hood, Hayward, Trey Lyles, Gobert- 94.6 ORtg, 94.6 DRtg, -6 overall
3. 20 minutes- Shelvin Mack, Hayward, Joe Johnson, Lyles, Gobert- 127.1 ORtg, 90.3 DRtg, +14 overall
4. 19 minutes- Mack, Hayward, Johnson, Lyles, Jeff Withey- 117.8 ORtg, 105.4 DRtg, +5 overall
5. 18 minutes- Exum, Hood, Hayward, Johnson, Gobert- 102.9 ORtg, 91.5 DRtg, +3 overall

Tavan’s Takeaways:

1. If you have only been reading the game threads (and maybe even from watching the games), you would think Exum hasn’t played much and that Mack has been terrible. Now I am not arguing he necessarily deserves more minutes, especially developmentally speaking, but objectively it would appear that Mack has been a better player than Exum for the last 10 games. Notice, however, that Exum has still been getting more mpg anyways.
2. Hill has been an absolute perfect fit for this team (you’re a wizard Dennis). We have yet to lose when all 3 of Hill, Hayward, and Gobert have played. The problem is that Hayward missed time early, and now Hill has some random ailments keeping him from playing. I can’t wait until we can (in the words of The Emperor) witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational battle station Jazz team!
3. I’ve come out and said a few times that Gordon Hayward would make the All-Star team this year. Rudy Gobert is making his case as well. He averaged a double double over the last 10 games after his offensive efficiency sky rocketed. He also has the most field goals defended at the rim in the entire league, and is holding opponents to just 41.9% there.
4. Despite how many games some key players have missed, this team is still winning games. The schedule is about to lighten up, and I see about another 10 wins or more through the rest of December. Our net rating would suggest that we are better than our record portrays, and I hope that catches up to us.
5. I’ll be honest, that 4 game losing streak really had me in the dumps. I don’t have a ton of spare time, so when they play poorly like that (even when due to injury), I can’t help but wonder why I invest my time, money, and emotions into the Jazz. And just when I think it couldn’t possibly get any worse... they go off and so something like that dominating 4 game winning streak:

How did all of you feel about this set of games?