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Pushing the ball in transition. Playing with pace. Shooting a lot of 3-pointers, yet scoring in the paint. And above all: Spacing, spacing, spacing.
These are the catch-phrases and characteristics of what Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder wants his offense to look like this coming season. Monday night's 88-81 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers provided evidence that the product isn't nearly finished. Last week's trip to Hawaii — which featured wins over the Los Angeles Lakers — serve as reminders to what could be.
If only the Jazz can find a way to be efficient.
When they are, the offense can be a beautiful sight. When they aren't — as in Phoenix and against the Blazers — ugly doesn't even begin to describe it. Which offense will the Jazz trot out consistently? It's just the preseason, everyone says. There's still a lot of time to work out the kinks.
"We're playing faster, and I think coach opened up the floor for guys to make reads and plays," Jazz shooting guard Rodney Hood said. "It's been good so far. Most of our guys are pick and roll players, and the offense puts us in position to make plays. So that part's been really good."
The pieces are there, and there have been times in the preseason where the pieces have meshed. At times, Derrick Favors has shown the look of an anchor in the paint, a 20 point and 10 rebound guy ready to happen. At times, Hood, Gordon Hayward and Alec Burks have provided flashes of a wing perimeter trio that can be one of the better groups in the NBA. At times, Trey Burke has shown that he can make shots, run the offense smoothly and play effectively off Hayward and Favors.
And then there's Monday night.
The offense looked the opposite of efficient against Portland. It looked jumbled and wobbly, like a baby deer attempting to walk for the first time. The offense looked slow against the Blazers. It looked like the first day of preseason, as the Jazz shot 31 percent from the field, turned the ball over 14 times and recorded just 13 assists.
Last week against the Lakers, the Jazz offense looked good enough to be playoff competitive. On Monday night, the Jazz offense looked headed for the draft lottery.
"The ball sticks when you're not efficient," Snyder said. "When you're not spaced well and there's nowhere to pass it. When you do pass it, it really doesn't do anything, it doesn't create much.
"We weren't very good offensively tonight, we didn't make plays. We didn't make shots. We have to learn to be better."
The Jazz are quick to point out Monday represented just the fourth preseason game, and because of the Hawaii trip, there's been precious little practice and film time. All of this is true, as is the fact that the offense has performed well at one point.
So with almost a week until the next preseason game at Portland, Utah's challenge is to incorporate its talent and make it as cohesive a unit as possible, heading into the final week of the preseason.
By now, some things are becoming clear. Burks has played excellent basketball, and has cemented himself as the starting shooting guard.
Hood is the offensive leader of the second unit, and there will be plenty of games where he will be on the floor at the final buzzer.
Favors is the guy in the paint, and Hayward does a little bit of everything. The Jazz are trying to play faster, with more pace, with more precise decision making. They are trying to get into the offense faster and to create better and more open looks at the rim.
Sometimes, it's working, like when they scored 117 points against the Lakers last week. At other's it isn't.
"It's early, so we're still trying to work out the kinks," Favors said. "We're still working on a couple of things. Obviously coach wants to play faster and with more pace, and I think we'll see it during the season. But right now, we're still working things out."
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The Jazz offense
The good • Gordon Hayward, Rodney Hood, and Alec Burks have the makings of a great wing trio. The offense has looked faster at times and versatile in spurts.
The bad • Utah's turned the ball over too much at times. The last two games, the pace of the offense looks alarmingly similar to last season.
The ugly • For two consecutive games, the Jazz point guard rotation has looked pretty bad. Against Portland on Monday, starting point guard Trey Burke didn't register an assist, which pretty much can't happen if you are an NBA starting point guard.