I went through the rosters of all NBA teams. For almost every team their best scorer averages at least 5 assists. They collapse or draw out the defenses and pass to the wide open teammate. Their ability to make quick, precise passes greatly multiplies their impact. And then there is Utah Jazz where Lauri just reached 2.0 assists per game for the first time this season. The only other NBA team somewhat close to the Jazz in that respect are the hapless, hopeless Nets: 3.6 APG for Bridges and 2.9 APG for Cam Thomas.
Instead of multiplying his impact Lauri lessens the impact of his teammates: he needs very specific players who can set him up and who can empty the paint for his drives. As a result the Jazz relied so heavily on freaking Olynyk for their offense to function. They could not play together their most natural lineup of Kessler, Hendrix and Lauri. We all agree that Lauri is not the natural or long-term first option but until we find it (and how many years would it take?) his being the the main engine of offense will put a hard, hard ceiling on what the Jazz can achieve as a team. It will also force Hardy to play some unnatural, suboptimal lineups and would guide the development of young players along the route of facilitating the attack for a non-passing forward, which is not the most useful skill. I am not sure if having on your roster someone called Finnisher is such a blessing: it could easily turn out to be a curse in the end.
P.S. Lauri is probably my favorite player on the Jazz right now.
Instead of multiplying his impact Lauri lessens the impact of his teammates: he needs very specific players who can set him up and who can empty the paint for his drives. As a result the Jazz relied so heavily on freaking Olynyk for their offense to function. They could not play together their most natural lineup of Kessler, Hendrix and Lauri. We all agree that Lauri is not the natural or long-term first option but until we find it (and how many years would it take?) his being the the main engine of offense will put a hard, hard ceiling on what the Jazz can achieve as a team. It will also force Hardy to play some unnatural, suboptimal lineups and would guide the development of young players along the route of facilitating the attack for a non-passing forward, which is not the most useful skill. I am not sure if having on your roster someone called Finnisher is such a blessing: it could easily turn out to be a curse in the end.
P.S. Lauri is probably my favorite player on the Jazz right now.