The rival’s perspective: Talking Timberwolves with a Jazz analyst

Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey was kind enough to answer some questions about the Minnesota Timberwolves-Utah Jazz matchup on Friday night.

I was lucky enough to be able to have access to Bleacher Report’s Andy Baily, a Jazz enthusiast, and get his perspective on the Minnesota Timberwolves-Utah Jazz game. I’ll also share my own thoughts on the questions that were asked.

1. Given Gordon Hayward‘s departure this summer, the Utah Jazz’ offense will look drastically different? What can we expect to see from them on that end of the floor?

Andrew Bailey (@AndrewDBailey): Utah’s offense is going to look much different, and we got a pretty good preview of that during the season opener against the Nuggets.

In years past, the Jazz went through a ton of action on most possessions and generally used most of the 24-second shot clock. The aim was to set enough screens and have enough off-ball movement to eventually get a mismatch for someone like Hayward. From there, he (or whoever else ended up with the ball) would have a chance to iso. The style led to Utah finishing 28th, 28th and 29th in assists over the last three seasons. It averaged fewer than 20 assists per game during that span.

Now, it looks like there will be a lot more quick actions. Pick-and-roll, pick-and-pop, drive-and-kick, drive-and-drop and fast breaks. Quicker shots off the passes already appear to be making a difference. Utah had 28 assists on 41 made field goals.

Brian Sampson (@BrianSampsonNBA): The Jazz will present one of the most balanced attacks in the entire league. That was on display in their season-opening win against a very good Denver Nuggets team when they had nine players score between six and 18 points.

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The quick action Andy referenced is going to be crucial for their success, especially in the halfcourt offense. Rubio is not the type of point guard who can produce consistent points for a team through their sets. He thrives in the open court when he can use his excellent ball-handling, vision and passing skills to catch the defense on their heals. Look for the Jazz to push the ball a lot more than usual.

2. What will be the Jazz’ gameplan against the Minnesota Timberwolves Friday night? What weaknesses of the Wolves will they exploit?

Andy: I’d guess Utah will play Minnesota in much the same way it did the Nuggets. Defensively, guys like Rubio, Joe Ingles and Thabo Sefolosha will be very aggressive looking for steals (another departure from last season). With Hayward and Hill gone, the Jazz want as much easy offense as possible, and creating turnovers leads to that.

On the other side of the ball, Utah will test almost every Minnesota player’s pick-and-roll defense, particularly Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns. The Jazz have multiple guys who can run pick-and-roll, but the ideal would be Ingles and Gobert with Wiggins and Towns trying to defend it. If Thibodeau cross-matches and puts those two on Hood and Favors, don’t be surprised if those two run a lot of actions together.

Brian: I expect Utah to follow the defensive blueprint the San Antonio Spurs rolled out by packing the paint and forcing the Timberwolves to take shots outside of the paint. This will happen by matching Gobert up with Gibson and letting Favors battle with Towns. It takes their best defensive player off the other teams best offensive guy, but it allows Gobert free reign around the basket.

This seemed to be a very successful point of focus as Minnesota shot a woeful 48.8 percent from inside the painted area. Until they prove willing to shoot more outside shots, teams will continue to employ this strategy.

3. If you were head coach of the Timberwolves, how would you attack and exploit the Jazz?

Andy: The closest thing Gobert has to a defensive weakness is guarding stretch-5s on the perimeter. And Minnesota may have the game’s best stretch-5 in Towns. If you play Towns with four wings/guards, you force Gobert to defend KAT outside the paint.

The other spot to attack will be Hood (or Mitchell, when he spells Hood). Minnesota has two wings who can score in droves with Butler and Wiggins, and Hood is the weakest defensive link among Utah’s starters. And while his backup, Mitchell, has potential on that end, he’ll make rookie mistakes and he’s a good four or five inches shorter than the T’Wolves’ wings.

Brian: In order for the Timberwolves to have offensive success against the Jazz, they must draw Gobert out of the paint. This will open up the lane for easy buckets if the perimeter players are able to get past their man.

Next: Minnesota Timberwolves game preview: Oct. 20 vs Utah Jazz

I agree with Andy’s point on playing four wings alongside Towns to maximize every inch of the court. Minnesota rolled out a Tyus Jones–Jamal Crawford-Wiggins-Butler-Towns lineup to close the game against the Spurs Look for something similar for long stretches against the Jazz.