Don’t expect emotional response from Jazz despite disappointing season

Don’t expect emotional response from Jazz despite disappointing season

(Kristin Murphy/Deseret News)


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SALT LAKE CITY — During the Utah Jazz 2015 Media Day, coming off one of the best stretches of basketball fans had seen from any team in the state in over the past decade, having traded Enes Kanter to clear room for rising star Rudy Gobert, the Jazz coaching staff and front office downplayed the previous season’s impressive stretch of success.

General Manager Dennis Lindsey avoided setting the playoffs as a goal for the roster, while head coach Quin Snyder cited the dangers of reading too far into success in the second half of any season that can feature so many variables. Snyder cautioned, “The recipe is not readily available when you only do something for 30 games.”

Turns out he was right.

The 2014-15 season’s 19-10 record down the stretch wasn’t replicated by the Jazz this past year, either in success or in health. Had the Jazz replicated that rate of victory, they would have finished with a 53-29 record, good for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Instead, they fell 13 games short of that mark, and a game out of the playoffs in the West.

With the latest projections for the NBA’s 2016-17 salary cap nearing a record $92 million, the Jazz should have roughly $30 million at their disposal, and Jazz fans expect them to spend it.

Don’t hold your breath.

While Lindsey and his staff will certainly examine available trades and free agents as ways to improve their roster, selling yourself on a playoff bid with this team as is isn’t difficult, and simply spending money may not be a top priority.

First, look at injuries. The Jazz lost starting point guard Dante Exum for 82 games this season, Alec Burks for 51, and the frontcourt of Derrick Favors and Gobert missed a combined 41 games.

It’s more than reasonable to expect that if the Jazz had a healthier roster, they would have made the playoffs. Additionally, it’s easy to see that the Jazz improved this season, both as a roster and statistically.

The addition of Shelvin Mack, who should find himself in a Jazz uniform once again next season, provides the Jazz with either a reliable starter or better-than-average backup to Dante Exum when he returns from injury. The Jazz had Mack’s services for just 28 games this season. Had he started 82 games for the team, it’s not unreasonable to assume that the Jazz would still be alive in the playoffs.

At locker-room cleanout, Lindsey highlighted the team’s defensive improvement, from 12th in efficiency last season to seventh this year. The Jazz point differential, according to Lindsey, indicated they resembled a 46-win team, rather than the sub-.500 record they finished the season with. For a numbers-driven organization like the Jazz, it’s reasonable to expect that if the statistic holds true, the team may have experienced an anomaly this year, one unlikely to occur next season.

Finally, an increased role from promising rookie Trey Lyles next season, with the addition of another lottery pick and further deterioration from the Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks, could make the Jazz an overwhelming favorite to play beyond the regular season’s 82 games.

The ingredients are great, except it’s the same recipe as last year.

Going into this past season, Lindsey hoped for better health from Alec Burks, more experience from Gordon Hayward, Favors and Gobert, and a statistical jump from Rodney Hood between his rookie and sophomore seasons.

Though in the first half of the season the Jazz had struggled offensively, they looked historically great with Gobert and Favors in the starting lineup.

The Jazz had money to spend last season, like they do this summer, and opted to hold on to it until the trade deadline.

Why should this summer look any different?

Most Jazz fans seem to share the belief that next year is a playoffs or bust situation, with a five-year rebuilding period hopefully coming to an end. Jazz nation has given the team its patience, now it wants results. With a few games remaining this past season, the postseason seemed like a forgone conclusion, with most projection models favoring the Jazz to make the playoffs in the final week of the season. They fell short.

While Jazz fans, mostly dealing in the wake of negative emotion from the late-season collapse, do expect the front office to make major improvements this offseason, don’t be surprised if Lindsey doesn’t respond in kind.

Though Jazz fans may expect a new dish in 2016 to start the Jazz down the road to the playoffs, there are enough promising ingredients on this roster to trot out the same old recipe.


![Ben Anderson](http://img.ksl.com/slc/2556/255612/25561254\.jpg?filter=ksl/65x65)
About the Author: Ben Anderson \------------------------------

Ben Anderson is the co-host of Gunther and Ben in the Afternoon with Kyle Gunther on 1320 KFAN from 3-7, Monday through Friday. Read Ben's Utah Jazz blog at 1320kfan.com, and follow him on Twitter @BenKFAN.

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