The Utah Jazz need Rodney Hood back soon

                                        
                                            (Credit: FanDuel. Click here for video).

A lot of things are going right for the Utah Jazz right now. They are 34-22 overall and 5th place in the Western Conference standings, just half a game behind the 34-21 Los Angeles Clippers. Gordon Hayward has been named an All-Star and the team is trending upwards. Amid all that good news, there is a more immediate problem that the Jazz have to deal with, namely the absence of Rodney Hood, who is out indefinitely due to a bone contusion and Grade 1 LCL sprain in his right knee.

Hood is averaging 13.7 points and 3.6 rebounds per game on 42.0% shooting from the field, 36.6% shooting from three-point range, and 75.3% shooting from the foul line. During his six game absence, the Jazz are just 3-3 and have lost 3 straight games, with their next game coming on Wednesday at home against the Trail Blazers. Hood is not expected to be back until after the All-Star break, which means that at a minimum he won't play on Wednesday. It is possible that he is back in time to play in the three-game road trip to Milwaukee, Washington, and Oklahoma City, but no guarantees. 

Even though this Utah Jazz team revolves around Gordon Hayward and Rudy Gobert, they have a lot of really good players like George Hill, Derrick Favors, and Rodney Hood that are playing an integral role in their success. Without Hood, the Jazz lose one of their top shooters and they are already a team that struggles to create their own offense. Much like the Memphis Grizzlies, the Jazz win games primarily by defending and rebounding. Scoring is not their strong suit and so to lose one of their best shooters really hurts.

Hopefully for the Jazz, Rodney Hood will be back sooner than later. They are right in the mix for the 4th seed in the Western Conference Playoffs, which guarantees home court advantage in the first round. Getting that 4th seed will be pivotal to their postseason success and so they need to do all they can to get that spot. What makes the absence of Hood all the more concerning is the upcoming road trip to Milwaukee, Washington, and Oklahoma City. That's a road trip where the Jazz could easily drop two of three games. Especially if Hood is still out.

Note: This blog post also appeared on NBALord.com. Click here to check it out. 

To connect with NBA Lord on Twitter, click here. 

To connect with NBA Lord on Facebook, click here. 

To connect with NBA Lord on Google Plus, click here. 

The Utah Jazz are playing elite defense in the paint

                                       (Credit: Chris Smoove on YouTube. Click here for video) 

The Utah Jazz are currently tied for 5th place in the Western Conference at 24-16 with the Memphis Grizzlies, proving themselves to be one of the most competitive teams in the NBA. The Jazz have won 6 of their last 10 games and are coming off of a 100-92 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier today.

Currently ranked 26th in points per game (98.4) and 27th in assists (18.9), the Jazz are clearly not winning games because of their offense. Though to be clear, Gordon Hayward is doing his part on offense, putting up 22.0 points per game on 45.0% shooting from the field and 37.3% from 3-point range while guys like George Hill (18.5 points per game) and Rodney Hood (13.5 points per game) are also finding success at putting the ball in the basket.

The Jazz have guys who can shoot the ball, but defense is definitely their calling card. The Jazz rank 1st in opponents points per game (94.9), 1st in opponent field goal percentage (42.9%), 5th in opponents second chance points (11.8 second chance points per game), and 1st in overall team defensive rating (101.4). They are also middle of the pack in rebounding, so they're doing a good job at controlling the boards. But, more than anything, they are just making it very difficult for opponents to score, which at the end of the day is what defense is all about.

The anchor of this Utah Jazz defense is Rudy Gobert, who is averaging 12.3 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game. Rudy Gobert is an elite defensive presence in the paint due to his length, quickness, and freakish athleticism. Gobert is doing a fantastic job at protecting the rim, making it very difficult for opponents to score inside.

In addition to Rudy Gobert, Derrick Favors is doing a stellar job at controlling the paint, averaging 8.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks per game. Favors is proving to be a solid presence down low to accompany Gobert. As far as perimeter defense is concerned, the Jazz aren't as good, ranking 15th in opponent 3-point shooting percentage (35.7%), but they are still solid. George Hill is averaging 1.1 steals per game while Gordon Hayward averages 1.0 steals per game, making them a solid perimeter defending duo.

But, what really is making this Utah Jazz team dangerous is their interior defense. Together, Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors guard the paint as if their very lives depend on it. They are really doing a stellar job at forcing teams to take difficult shots inside, which leads to easy baskets in transition on the other end.

At this point of the season, all I can say about the Utah Jazz is that provided they can get fully healthy, they should able to win a playoff series this year. Derrick Favors, George Hill, Dante Exum, and Alec Burks have all missed games due to injury, but with everybody now getting back to full strength, this team appears capable of climbing up the Western Conference standings and living up to the preseason hype.

To connect with NBA Lord on Twitter, click here. 

To connect with NBA Lord on Facebook, click here. 

To connect with NBA Lord on Google Plus, click here. 

Note: This blog post also appeared on my main NBA blog. nbalord.blogspot.com. Click here to check it out. 

Looking back on the career of DeShawn Stevenson

                                         (Credit: jazzbasketball.wordpress.com) 

Earlier this week, DeShawn Stevenson officially retired from pro basketball after having not played in the NBA since the 2012-13 season with the Atlanta Hawks. I thought that with him officially hanging up his sneakers, it would be good to reflect on his career.

When I think of DeShawn Stevenson, I still think of his early days with the Utah Jazz, who drafted him with the 23rd overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft. When the Jazz drafted him, they were hoping he would become their franchise player for the future due to his athleticism and upside.

To give you a sense of how much upside he had, NBADraft.net compared DeShawn Stevenson to Michael Jordan: "Special player. Extremely gifted athlete. Great ball handler. Very advanced shooter and scorer for his age. A showstopper. Can play the 1 or 2. Won the McDonald's High School dunk contest. Super character. As NBA ready as any HS player in his class." 

While he never lived up to the hype that NBADraft.net created, DeShawn Stevenson still had a very good NBA career. Defense became his calling card and he was more than ok with that. He didn't care that he wasn't the star of the team. He took great pride in defending at a high level and making things as tough as possible on the opposing team's star player.

DeShawn Stevenson's defense was so good that it gave LeBron James fits back when the Cleveland Cavaliers would battle the Washington Wizards in the mid-late 2000s and once again when the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals. DeShawn Stevenson's defense was a major reason for why the Mavericks won that series over the Heat. His ability to defend LeBron James at a high level and get in his head gave the Mavericks a significant advantage in that series that other teams didn't have when facing the Heat.

                                         (Credit: Keith Allison. Click here  for source). 

During the 2011 NBA Finals, DeShawn Stevenson was a bit of a crazy guy and in a good way. He had a Dennis Rodman like edge to him to accompany his stellar defense, which really made him a series changer. The fact that DeShawn Stevenson could defend LeBron James so well is reason enough to say he had a great NBA career and then when you consider that he lasted for 13 seasons and picked up an NBA championship ring along the way, his career suddenly appears to be a very good one.

If there is anything that DeShawn Stevenson exemplifies it is toughness. You have to be tough to play in the NBA for 13 seasons, especially if defense is your calling card. His career averages of 7.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game don't do a very good job at telling the story of his career. DeShawn Stevenson at his best was a game changer on the defensive end of the floor and he took great pride in being just that. He was selfless and put his team first. He's a player who more NBA players should exemplify from the standpoint that he was totally content with doing his job in the background.

In a league where too many players are concerned with how many points they score or how many all-star teams they make, DeShawn Stevenson was worried about how many points he allowed his man to score and whether or not he was getting inside the heads of his opponents. Guys like DeShawn Stevenson are hard to come by because what they do isn't glamorous and it takes a lot of hard work.

DeShawn Stevenson showed up every night and played elite defense night in and night out. That says a lot about the kind of player he was and the amount of character he had on the basketball court. More basketball players should try to emulate that same kind of character on the floor. If they did, they too would have productive and long careers in the NBA.

Click here to connect with NBA Lord on Twitter. 

Click here to connect with NBA Lord on Facebook. 

Click here to connect with NBA Lord on Google Plus. 

Note: This blog post also appears on nbalord.blogspot.com. Click here to check it out.