How do we put our players in the best position to succeed next year?

[sgjazzfan]

We have had a few threads about who will be the starting 5, who is coming off the bench, and how many minutes each player will get. I am more curious about what each individual player needs this next year to be in the best position to succeed.

Burke- He obviously is a pg only, and will hopefully start and learn to play well with Favors/Kanter. Not much debate for what his role will be, just whether or not he can do it.

Hayward- He was lost as a starter last year because Al, Mo and Milsap demanded too much if the ball and did much better coming off the bench. I think he'll be fine as a starter this year. What position is best for him though? It seems he's played better as a sg, but why? Is it the position he is put in as a sg, or is it the size/strength of the players defending him. Which position does he defend better? If he is better at sg, who starts at sf (at least until M Williams gets back). Rush doesn't seem to be more than a sg.

Burks- I think it is a given that Kanter, Favors, Hayward, and Burke are being counted on to start. Is Burks better off being the fifth starter, or coming off the bench. It seems he would have many more opportunities with the ball in his hands, to do what he does best if he is the sixth man. If so, is he better off playing sg or pg coming off the bench?

Kanter/Favors- I think they will both start, but which plays pf, which plays C? Does it even make that much difference? It seems Favors will guard the more athletic player, and Kanter will guard the bigger player/post up player.

I'm really most interested in your thoughts on Burks and Hayward., and where Rush might fit in best without getting in the way.

 

[Harambe]

Give them enough rope to hang themselves, and each other with.

 

[fishonjazz]

I think that burks should start at the 2 and hayward at the 3

 

[framer]

Is Rush even going to be healthy to start the year? I guarantee that he will have buckets of rust, so we should probably insert Burks into the starting lineup to begin with. I do think Burks would fit better as the leader off the bench as our players become more healthy and comfortable with their roles. He should be given the green light there as no one else on the bench has the potential to be an offensive difference maker. Also, I just don't see how Richard Jefferson doesn't get meaningful minutes right away as Rush and M Williams are questionable. He will probably be anchoring the bench to start the year. The real interesting thing to see is after 20 games in Gobert is taking away Biedrin's minutes. If Biedrins stays the Biedrins of last year, I bet Gobert completely surplants him as the third back up big, which would be crazy. I suspect there will be no patience whatsoever for Biedrins to come along slowly.

 

[spycam1]

I want Burks to know that the organization has the confidence in him to let him start with the other young guys. But at the same time, he would get more touches as a 6th man. Idk, maybe it wouldn't make a huge difference. In the end, I'd probably start him at SG and have him play PG when Burke sits down, then bring Rush in off the bench to play SG.

 

[Hotdog]

Alls I knows is...


If the Jazz find a way to play those scrubs over Burks and Gobert, I'm gonna be pissed. There is absolutely no reason to play those terrible vets over the young guys and screw with their development.

 

[Batman]

Gobert looks like he is going to be fun to watch on the defensive end. Though we'll be virtually void of offense in the post, I want to see Favors and Gobert on the court at the same time.

 

[David Stern]

I'd bet Richard Jefferson starts, there's no way Corbin doesn't go with a veteran in the lineup.

 

[default]

How do we put our players in the best position to succeed next year? Trade them to teams with better coaching and players around them that will draw double teams and mentor them. I don't want that to happen, but it's the honest truth even if it hurts.

 

[BTP]

Gobert looks like he is going to be fun to watch on the defensive end. Though we'll be virtually void of offense in the post, I want to see Favors and Gobert on the court at the same time.

Don't think that's going to be a problem as long as Gobert can jump and doesn't have butter hands. People have to respect a backdoor lob pass and can't guard him in front to get better positioning in the lane. He'll do the Tyson Chandler job if he's a smart baller.

 

[Dr. Jones]

Rush, Burks, and Hayward are a great trio as they're all fairly interchangeable wings.
I think if Burks starts then we know the FO consider him part of the core (I'm not convinced they do).
I could see Rush starting, if healthy, and bring Burks' energy/scoring off the bench.

What I would say is this is all about evaluating, tinkering, and based on evaluation somewhere around mid-season, we'll see what the FO views as the future... as they'll be getting the chemistry clicking asap.

 

[Stifle Tower]

I believe Corbin already said they'd like Burks to be the leader off the bench. What I think we need to find out first of all, is which players can be part of the core-8 rotation going forward. Hayward definitely fits that group. He's a solid player who could be a star if he develops a better mid-range game and improves his decision-making and ball-handling skills. Right now the jury is still out on Favors and Kanter. How will they develop? And equally important, can they play effectively together or does Utah keep one inside and trade the other to find a complementary player with more of an outside threat?

The strategy should be to play each 30+ mins this season, then see what Utah has/doesn't have heading into the draft. What I do like right now is the flexibility of the bigs, Hayward and possibly Burks. If all of those guys can play 2 positions, then the Jazz can truly go BPA in the draft. Get Harrison or Smart to create a fantastic 1/2 rotation and leave Hayward at the 3. Pick falls a little later? No problem. Take GRIII or Hood at SF and play Hayward some at SG to create extra minutes.

 

[Stifle Tower]

Perhaps the most important evaluation will be of Burke. If he doesn't look like he'll be a quality starter, then the Jazz have to make their best effort to get Harrison or Smart, either by landing in the range after the lottery or by packaging some picks to move up.

 

[framer]

Gobert looks like he is going to be fun to watch on the defensive end. Though we'll be virtually void of offense in the post, I want to see Favors and Gobert on the court at the same time.

Except when Gobert gets his minutes, there will be zero bench bigs that can really threaten him. That is what is so great about Gobert, we have no need to push him to play against bad matchups. He can feast on bad backup bigs until he gets used to the speed of the game and gets familiar with the offense. He won't see better bigs than what he played against in France until he gets good enough to take minutes from Kanter or Favors, which isn't going to happen soon. If it does, then one of the three will be traded.

 

[sgjazzfan]

I think the ideal starting 5 should be Burke, Hayward, Jefferson (until Marvin is healthy), Kanter, and Favors. Burks replaces Jefferson about halfway through the quarter, and Hayward moves to the 3. That way Burks gets to pay with the rest of the core, and lead the bench. Rush, Gobert, Evans and Lucas can then join him for a few minutes.

I don't think fans will enjoy watching Lucas, Rush, Jefferson, Evans, Biedrins/Gobert. At least with Burks there is someone exciting to watch on the court with the second team.

 

[Zulu]

I want burks to either start and be the last starter to be substituted or have him come off the bench replacing Burke then Hayward when he hits the bench!!

 

[gregbroncs]

I really want to see mostly an 9 man rotation of Burke, Burks, Rush, Hayward, Favors, Kanter, Gobert, Lucas and Evans. I have little to no faith in Evans but it's time to find out if he has anything but a dunk or occasional block. Lucas' minutes should be really limited with Burks getting some minutes at PG. Let Beeds, Jeffy, and Wiliams rot on the bench and go away quietly in the off season. None of them are part of the future and their time here and on the floor should reflect that.
.
Outside of that all they need to succeed is to develop their chemistry and see where we are at going forward. This season is a no lose situation for the franchise. The players themselves have control over their improvement and I hope some really surprise us.

 

[Ellipse]

I think the ideal starting 5 should be Burke, Hayward, Jefferson (until Marvin is healthy), Kanter, and Favors. Burks replaces Jefferson about halfway through the quarter, and Hayward moves to the 3. That way Burks gets to pay with the rest of the core, and lead the bench. Rush, Gobert, Evans and Lucas can then join him for a few minutes.

I don't think fans will enjoy watching Lucas, Rush, Jefferson, Evans, Biedrins/Gobert. At least with Burks there is someone exciting to watch on the court with the second team.

I still don't understand why everyone thinks we need two teams: 5 starters and 5 bench players. I've said it before and I'll say it again, we only need an 8-player rotation to compete. It use to be unheard of for teams to go 10 deep as part of a normal rotation, but now everyone thinks that is the only way the game can be played. Folks, you only go 10 deep if you have young players in that 9th and 10th spot you are trying to develop like we did the last two years. And do you remember how we bitched about how little playing time Kanter, Favors, and Burks got? We don't care who our 9th and 10th men are because we don't need to play them. So just go with Kanter, Favors, Gobert, Hayward, Burks, Rush, Burke, and Marvin. The rest of the bench should see playing time only if foul trouble or injuries force a substitution.

Rotations:

4/5 -- Kanter, Favor, Gobert
2/3 -- Hayward, Rush, Burks, Marvin
1 -- Burke, Burks
Floater (until Marvin returns): Beidrins, Lucas, Jefferson, or Evans

 

[Chris-L]

Hey sgjazzfan, ever been part of a "crew"?

 

[The Midnight]

I want Burks to know that the organization has the confidence in him to let him start with the other young guys. But at the same time, he would get more touches as a 6th man. Idk, maybe it wouldn't make a huge difference. In the end, I'd probably start him at SG and have him play PG when Burke sits down, then bring Rush in off the bench to play SG.

Agreed with this. Gold.