Jazz problem is obvious!

[retiredcoach]

Hayward should shoot more. A lot more. He's reluctant for several reasons.

1. He grew up a point guard thinking assist first and score second.

2. In college he focused on making the players around him better. That's how Butler made it to the finals on the talent they had. Hayward only averaged 15 pt pg in college. So it wasn't his scoring that got Butler there.

3. He's confused by the crap he's being told by the coaches. Coaches often say the wrong things to players in a well meaning way. For example, he's told everyday that defense is really important. Well, it is if you're not scoring 25 pts a game. In the NBA, if a player is scoring around 20, no one cares if they defend. Hayward needs to hear from Corbin and the other coaches that his points are vital to the Jazz winning. Then they have to back it up by creating shots for him.

4. Hayward often has to create his own offense. He moves well without the ball like AK but doesn't get the ball in the same positions as AK does. Millsap will see Hayward open in scoring position and won't pass the ball to him. Ask Millsap what's up with that? The team has to look for Hayward to score, tell him that, and then get the ball to him.

5. Hayward sees what other players are doing to draw fouls. He does the same thing and gets no calls. He's losing 6 or more pts a night on no calls. Those no calls have cost Jazz games. This is the problem Corbin is faced with. Hayward is a player. He can score, but he should be at the line 8 to 10 times a game. Part of this is the rookie syndrome and part is based on the refs getting a lot of high level criticism lately based on statistical analysis saying they call too many fouls in favor of white players. Corbin knows the refs aren't going to call the hacks against Hayward but will call the minor touch fouls by him. What does Corbin do?

6. Hayward still has some Ron Howard Opie in him. He says he knows the NBA is a business but he hasn't figured out the point per game to reward ratio yet. Again he believes too much of what he is being told and not enough of reality. CJ shoots without a conscience. CJ's bad decision making never got punished. Hayward was punished early on for making even little mistakes. It's still hanging over him.

7. For a measure of how much the first six things are impacting Hayward, look at the Pacers game. In front of his most ardent fan base, he still was reluctant to shoot. That's nuts. Even Corbin said he wished Hayward had taken more shots.

Hayward can overcome the Ron Howard thinking but he needs help. If I were working with Hayward, I would do two things. I would take him to lunch with myself, Jefferson, Millsap, AK and Harris and tell him that everyone sitting at the table wanted to see him shoot more from the perimeter, and I would have everybody at that table express both their confidence in him and their desire to see him get it done. Then I would ask Hayward to do something he is very close to doing now but not consistently, I would ask him to follow the Ray Allen pattern of warm-ups. I would do that not because I think Ray Allen has the best approach, but because Hayward respects him. I would call Allen and ask him to spend a few minutes talking to Hayward telling him his warm-up methods, the thinking behind what he does and the attitude it takes to be a scorer in the NBA. Once Hayward starts copying Ray Allen's pattern of game prep, he'll come to believe it's working, and he's ready.

The problem is in Hayward's head not in his ability so I would work on his head.

[yonexpro1]

I think that hayward is the best shooter this roster has to offer. Although I dont agree he should start (yet), I wouldnt mind seeing him get 25 min a game.