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Derrick Favors sat in his locker room chair for what seemed like an eternity on Tuesday night. His phone seemingly his only connection between him and the outside world, Favors looked as if he were deep in thought.
The preseason has been frustrating at times for the Utah Jazz power forward. It's been a preseason where he's struggled to find rhythm, a preseason where he's missed a few games due to rest and nagging injury, and a preseason where playing time for him has been at a premium.
His coach wants him fit and healthy for the regular season. Yet, in order to play well when it counts, reps and playing time are key. It isn't hard to surmise that Favors hasn't played well in his last two starts. Last Monday night, he shot 2 for 11 in a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. In Tuesday night's 113-102 defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Favors was 4 for 11 for nine points, and seemed visibly upset at times.
Yet, when interviewed by The Salt Lake Tribune, Favors brushed aside thoughts of any lingering issues.
"I'll be ready for the regular season," Favors told The Tribune. "Sometimes it's tough, when you sit a few games and you don't play a lot of minutes. It's tough, but it's still the preseason. There's still a lot of time."
Favors, simply put, is a key to any potential Jazz success this year. He will be looked upon as Utah's primary source of scoring in the low post. Last season, he proved himself adept offensively with his back to the basket. Even more important, he proved that he could knock down 18-foot jumpers with regularity, an asset that allowed the Jazz to spread the floor and allowed Quin Snyder to play him with Rudy Gobert.
Couple that with his rebounding and defense, and Favors is seen as arguably the best two-way player on the team. But without his scoring for much of the preseason, the Jazz's offense has been productive on the outside, but not so much in the middle.
Six years into his career, however, Favors has built himself chips in Quin Snyder's bank. The Jazz are confident he'll be himself when the lights come on next Wednesday in Detroit. That's what happens when your 2014 stat line rests at 16 points and eight rebounds a night. And if mirrors that production again, the preseason struggles will quickly be forgotten.
"He's proven to us what he can do," Snyder said. "It's so early in the year that two games isn't a lot of time. We've sat a lot of guys, considering their levels of fatigue, so I'm sure timing and things like that can be affected. But he's working hard on and off the floor, so we're not overly concerned."
Favors said teams are playing him differently than last season when he was given as much space as he wanted to take open shots. Now, teams are contesting those jumpers, because he's proven he can make them.
As such, Favors said he has to adjust to the adjustments, so to speak. If teams crowd him, he has to use his quickness and athleticism to get to the basket. If teams double him in the post, he has to pass out, go to the opposite block and re-post.
Favors knows that's what the good ones do. The Blake Griffins the LaMarcus Aldridges and the Anthony Davises of the world all have counter-moves.
"It's about reps and practice," Favors said. "If teams are playing me differently and playing me for the jumper now, I have to make different moves in order to get my shot off."
Some of Favors' offense lies in the hands of the guards as well. On Tuesday night, Favors found the paint crowded, going against Serge Ibaka and Steven Adams. He found temporary success in the pick-and-roll, converting easy dunks off passes from Trey Burke and Rodney Hood.
Favors said he didn't know how much he expects to play on Thursday night against the Denver Nuggets. He does know that he has seven days before it all begins for real. That's seven days of practice reps, and a week of getting his legs right at the same time.
"I'll be ready," was the parting message from Utah's franchise power forward.
Twitter: @tjonessltrib —
Favors' unfavorable preseason
• Has shot a combined 6 for 22 in his last two preseason outings.
• Missed Sunday's game against Portland, and a game against the Los Angeles Lakers because of rest and minor injury.
• Best preseason game was the opener against the Lakers, when he scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 24 minutes. —
Jazz vs. Nuggets
P At EnergySolutions Arena
Thursday, 7 p.m.