What ever happened to offensive execution?

Okay. I get it. The Utah Jazz of 2013-14 are new; with new guys at different roles, our point guard is hurt, and so many other guys have been hurt too. But man, the offense has looked really bad so far this season.The Team is scoring 87.2 ppg (worst in the league), accrues 92.8 points per 100 possessions (30th in offensive rating too), ranks #30, #27, #2 and #16 in the four offensive factors (eFG%, TOV%, ORB%, and FG/FGA ratio). We're last in the league from downtown, and, yeesh, we're even 27th at even making our free throws. FREE. THROWS.

The offense has been really bad so far this season. What happened to offensive execution? MySynergySports videos of the Utah Jazz are snuff films. Things are going to get better -- but they are really bad now.

Of course, a lot of new Jazz fans (people who are below that undergrad degree Maginot line of actual life experience) will claim that I'm being too negative, critical, or never have anything good to say. It's a product of having a frame of reference. If your best life experiences in your Jazz fandom are beating Tracy McGrady in the first round of the playoffs then your best life experiences of Utah Jazz basketball are a little limited.

Let's take this game from 1992 where the Jazz LOST at home to the Seattle Super Sonics (now the Oklahoma City Thunder). This game took place almost a decade before the team would make the NBA Finals. (Rounding up, I guess) The guys running these plays were not the sure shot Hall of Famers, but good players fighting to still make a name for themselves in the league. They had proven nothing yet in the NBA on the team success level.

And look at how well the offense was executed.

Here are some things that this Jazz team did that our current one is not doing:

• set actual screens
• hold your ground while posting up (and posting up a variety of players, why don't we try to post up Alec Burks on PGs, Gordon Hayward on SG? This team was posting up Blue Edwards and Jeff Malone)
  
• being patient on offense and waiting to make the right pass
• finishing with contact
• making the open shot
• running the floor in transition
• making free throws
• spacing the floor (of course, now zone defense is legal)
• putting the round thing into the orange hoop thing

This Jazz team from the video would go on to reach the Western Conference Finals 5 times in 7 years. If we want to get back to successful basketball we're going to have to start being successful on the court. I'm not saying we have to win now, but we need to at least execute on offense to the point where we're not the absolute worse offensive team in the post shot clock era. (Hyperbole) (That's a high school word though, so you should know what that means, kids)

Anyway, add to the list above with some things you see from the old, unproven Jazz in that video. (Insert your best "coaching, hyuk hyuk hyuk" joke here.)

Our current team is going to get better. At least we have a checklist of things we know we have to work on. Onwards to development and discovery! Onwards!