The Utah Jazz start the 2015-2016 season tonight. But before the games start (and they start soon!) we need to jam a little more together about this team. In this Jam session we talk about the Jazz playing time and rotation. Who is going to be the first bigman sub to help Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert? Who is going to take the last second shot to win the game? And who is the national media going to "discover" this season? Check it all out, and be sure to join in the jam session in the comments section!
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1. Who is the "It Guy" that the Nation Media is going to "discover" this season, like Rudy Gobert was last season?
Diana: I really don't know who the national media will "discover" I am going to go with Alec Burks. I think since he is our best "free agent signing" this year. He will be new to the national media this year despite starting his 5th season in the NBA.
YuccaMan: I'm gonna just look at Jazz guys, cuz I have no idea regarding other teams. Raul Neto is going to be the great discovery. He's gonna make crazy passes and make everyone remember how fun Ricky Rubio was when first discovering him.
JuMu Out of players on the Jazz: Rodney Hood, Alec Burks, Raul Neto. Maybe Derrick Favors will finally get some national recognition (don't count on it). Other players in the league I can see breaking onto the scene of players people will be talking about: Emmanuel Mudiay, Julius Randle, Alex Len, C.J. McCollum, and Dennis Schroeder.
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2. Derrick Favors is a beast. Rudy Gobert is a beast. Who does Quin Snyder substitute out of the game first?
Diana: Hmm I think it will have to do with foul trouble. If there is no foul trouble I will go with Derrick Favors because Quin Snyder seems to really like Trevor Booker.
YuccaMan: Favors ... mostly cuz Trevor Booker will be the backup big with the most minutes..
JuMu: Favors comes out first. Minutes post all-star break last season: 30.7 MPG for Favors, 34.4 for Gobert.
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3. Trevor Booker is in a contract year. Is he going to be able to hold onto his minutes against the likes of Jeff Withey, Trey Lyles, and Tibor Pleiss?
Diana: Yes because Quin loves him so much.
YuccaMan: Booker will play plenty. I hope Lyles is ready to make big contributions by the end of the year, and I suppose that is what the Jazz hope too. But really, no backup big is polished as Book right now.
JuMu: Booker is greater than any of those players right now. Withey and Pleiß will be fighting over backup center minutes, while Booker will be assuming the role of backup power forward while possibly playing some center in small-ball lineups. I'd give Lyles about a 50-50 chance of taking over the backup power forward minutes by the end of the season, either through developing into a better-suited player in the lineup or via Booker being traded due to his bargain expiring deal being a decently valuable commodity.
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4. All things being equal, who has the skill set best capable of keeping a mostly bench unit afloat -- Gordon Hayward, Alec Burks, or Rodney Hood?
Diana: Gordon Hayward will never come off the bench. Though I can see Quin being creative with substitutions like how Karl Malone use to play with the bench unit a lot when John Stockton was taking his rest. I think Alec is the guy to be our bench star. He has a broader skill set (right now) than Rodney Hood. He can create his own shot and keep the offense going when the bench is otherwise struggling. I think Hood will mesh nicely with the starters if he can find his 3 point shot again.
YuccaMan: I've thought about this question more than anything else this preseason, and in the end I think Burks is the right guy to be the 6th man. He had a great preseason, and his playmaking has really been impressive. He has the ability to get a good scoring opportunity when Jingles, Booker, Withey, & Co. are all playing "I don't want to shoot, I want to pass" basketball. I also think Hood is going to spot up more as a starter simply because he'll defer to Hayward more, and that will be a good thing. Burks is the best 6th man to me.
JuMu: My insider source with one of the Jazz's Big 3 says that Burks would be best off the bench as he needs the ball more. I'm going to have to agree with him. Burks can straight up own fools, but there's only one ball to go around and perhaps the Jazz would be best suited with the Burkcourt dominating 2nd units rather than hurt the efficiency of our starting squad.
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5. There's eight seconds on the clock, and the Jazz have the ball out-of-bounds at half court. They are down by just one point. Who is on the floor right now? And who gets the ball?
Diana: Hayward, Favors, Gobert, Burke, Burks. I think Hayward gets the ball to either take the last shot or set it up.
YuccaMan: Hood - Burks - Hayward - Favors - Gobert. Shooting, playmaking, driving, offensive rebounding. It's all there. And it goes to Hayward, though he won't always take the shot..
JuMu: Burke-Hood-Hayward-Ingles-Gobert; Ingles inbounds to whoever of Burke-Hood-Hayward are open, preferably Hayward, Gobert is there for putback dunk possibility..
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