In this crazy lockout season we are three months into the season. I thought it would be interesting to see how each Jazz player has progressed month to month to month. I am going to look at Locke Offensive ranking, which values efficiency of possession and ability to get a shot off along with some other metrics.
The Locke offensive ranking traditionally 0 is replacement level; 10 is league average; 20 is high level and 30 is elite – over 40 is hall of fame season. This year all the numbers are down a little and they traditionally improve as the season goes on.
Derrick Favors
Locke Offensive Rating month to month – 3.3 January; 1.2 in February and 3.6 in March
These numbers are a bit surprising and discouraging on Derrick. It has felt like he has made huge offensive strides but it doesn’t show in the numbers. The poor shooting nights to close the month have definitely had an impact on his numbers.
Favors shooting percentage needs to increase as does his free throw shooting. His points per scoring opportunity have been consistent – 1.06 in January; 1.02 in Feb and 1.05 in Feb. He has been gradually getting more opportunities. In January he used 7 scoring opportunities per game then 8 in February and 9 in March.
A good sign for Favors is with the increase in usage he has decreased his turnover rate. He was at 17% of his possessions were turnovers in both January and February now in March he was down to 15.3%.
He has been very consistent on how often he gets to the line at 14.5 % of his possessions. This is a good rate for a big man and coupled with the strong rates of Hayward and Burks the Jazz could be a team that gets to the line a lot in the future and that is a good thing.
Favors numbers are better in his 8 starts with a Locke offensive rating of 9.1 and off the bench as a 1.5. If Favors can get to a Locke offensive rating of 10 next year that would be a nice step for him with his defensive prowess he would be helping the team.
His biggest offensive struggle has been in the 2nd quarter. This is usually when the team goes to him in the post and this would show he may not be ready for that type of responsibility. It is also when he is on the floor with Kanter. He shots just 43% in contrast to 53% in the 1st quarter and 51% in the 3rd quarter.
My conclusion from looking at these numbers is the Jazz have used Favors correctly from the offensive perspective this year. He is not ready to have an offensive burden. We are all seeing flashes of a post game and an offensive game but the dividends are not showing through the stats yet, which means he is not making the plays yet.
Alec Burks is next