RealGM

When watching Summer League basketball, there are certain things that you need to look for when watching the games. Going into the Jazz game, I was focused on Gordon Hayward and his ability to work off of the basketball on both offense and defense. This is important for Hayward because he isn’t going to be a guy with the ball in his hands creating off of the dribble, the Jazz don’t need him for that. What I think Hayward will be doing with the Jazz is working off of screens, so if he already has a knack for that he will be ahead of the game:

Here, Hayward is getting a downscreen set for him. Hayward wants to get to the wing, but he starts towards the baseline first. This is because he is setting his defender up. He lulled him to sleep as if he was going to cut baseline, then quickly went around the screen curling to the basket. Hayward gets open, but a moving screen prevents him from being able to score.

This is the Jazz’s buzzer beater attempt, and it is a subtle move from Hayward that caught my eye. As Gaines attacks the basket, Hayward’s man turns his attention to him. Once the defender turns his head, Hayward takes a slide step towards the baseline, making it harder to close out. If the pass goes to directly to him instead of going from Gaines to a big to Hayward, he has a wide open three pointer. In the end, Hayward finished with 8 points on just 2-2 shooting. That is no indication of anything, because looking at his work off the ball, he is going to benefit from playing with a guy like Deron Williams, who can deliver the ball to his teammates very well. He’s a guy who will play better with better players at this level.

On Defense

On the defensive side of the basketball, Hayward was a mixed bag. He showed an ability to know where he needed to be, but sometimes he had trouble getting there on time:

Here, Gerald Henderson attacks the basket and Hayward recognizes that he needs to help on the play. He quickly tries to help, but he simply is not fast enough to get to the rim and challenge the shot. The result an easy dunk.

horaceworthy wrote:I've watched a couple of Utah's summer league games, Hayward looks good, and like a pretty seamless fit for you guys. He's tough, just got such a good feel for the game, and he's much more athletic and than given credit for.

Every time he makes a move with the ball or off a screen there's a purpose to it, different than when I've watched the Pacers and seen Paul George make some fancy moves and ultimately not get anywhere or dribble himself into more trouble than he was in in the first place.

I know a lot of realgmers panned the pick with the whole "overdraft, another white guy for Utah" angle, but Hayward's style of play looks to fit what Sloan wants to do better than anybody else available there with the possible exception of Aldrich.