19-year old center Enes Kanter and 20-year old shooting guard Alec Burks are both playing decent basketball for the Jazz so far this year. Kanter has played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Jazz so far this year and he is averaging 13.2 minutes, 4.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. He is likely going to be a starter in the near future for the Jazz. Alec Burks has played in 9 games (0 starts) for the Jazz so far this year and he is averaging 10.8 minutes, 5.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Burks brings instant offense off the bench and he is going to have a much bigger role in the near future.

21-year old SG/SF Gordon Hayward looked overwhelmed early this year but he finished strongly enough that he might enter the 2011-12 season as the Jazz’ starting shooting guard.  Hayward played in 72 games (17 starts) for the Jazz last year and he averaged 16.9 minutes, 5.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.  He shot pretty well from everywhere on the court as he hit 48.5% from the floor, 47.3% from three point range and 71.1% from the free throw line last year.  I expect that his free throw shooting will improve in 2011-12.  19-year old power forward Derrick Favors came over in the Deron Williams deal with the Nets.  He played in 22 games (4 starts) for the Jazz last year and he averaged 20.2 minutes, 8.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game.  Favors played in 78 games (27 starts) overall for the Nets & Jazz and he averaged 19.7 minutes, 6.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  Most of his shots come from close range as he nailed 51.7% from the floor, but he will need to work on his free throw shooting as 59.5% just isn’t going to cut it.  Favors will back up Paul Millsap for the time being, but he might push him for his starting gig down the road.  23-year old small forward Jeremy Evans is a pretty good offensive player.  He shot a stunning 66.1% from the floor (76 of 115) last year.  He played in 49 games (3 starts) for the Jazz last year and he averaged 9.4 minutes, 3.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  I look for him to get more P.T. in 2011-12.

20-year old SG/SF Gordon Hayward was supposed to be the Golden Boy out of Butler.  But, he has had a hard time adjusting to the speed of the NBA.  He has played in 54 games (12 starts) for the Jazz so far this year and he is averaging 13.2 minutes, 3.6 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  I don’t think Hayward has a really high upside.  19-year old power forward Derrick Favors came over to the Jazz in the Deron Williams deal.  He has played in 4 games (0 starts) for the Jazz so far this year and he is averaging 15.0 minutes, 7.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  He has now played in 60 games (23 starts) overall this season for the Nets & Jazz and he is averaging 19.2 minutes, 6.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  Most of Favors’ offensive game is in the paint right now and that’s part of the reason that he is shooting 51.7% from the floor.  He does need to improve his free shooting as he is only hitting 59.8% from the charity stripe so far this year.  He has a nice upside but for now he’s going to be Paul Millsap’s caddy.  23-year old small forward Jeremy Evans has played in 32 games (0 starts) for the Jazz so far this year and he is averaging 6.6 minutes, 3.2 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  He is shooting 44 of 60 (73.3%) from the floor this season but it’s just not good enough to get on the court for the Jazz.  Evans, in fact, has been sent to the D-League recently by the Jazz.

The Utah Jazz have not had much P.T. available for their rookies and don’t look for that to change any time soon.  20-year old SG/SF Gordon Hayward has looked overmatched so far this year.  He has played in 35 games (6 starts) so far this year for the Jazz and he is averaging 11.1 minutes, 3.2 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  23-year old forward Jeremy Evans has been better than Hayward so far this year.  He has played in 19 games (0 starts) for the Jazz so far this year and he is averaging 6.2 minutes, 2.6 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  He is shooting an amazing 70% from the floor (21 of 30) so far this year.  With the Jazz setting goals of winning an NBA Championship, I just don’t see Hayward or Evans getting much P.T. the rest of the year.

20-year old SG/SF Gordon Hayward has been disappointing so far this year.  He has played in 23 games (4 starts) for the Jazz so far this year and he is averaging 8.9 minutes, 2.0 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.  Hayward is only shooting 39.1% from the floor and 33.3% from three point range so far this year.  If he continues shooting so many bricks his butt is going to be nailed to the bench.  23-year old forward Jeremy Evans hasn’t played much so far this year.  Evans has played in 13 games (0 starts) so far this year and he is averaging 5.5 minutes, 2.8 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  Evans is shooting 68.2% from the floor so far this season but only 64% from the free throw line.

20-year old SG/SF Gordon Hayward is off to a very slow start for the Jazz. He has played in 10 games (1 start) for the Jazz so far this year and he is averaging 12.0 minutes, 2.8 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Hayward is supposed to be a good shooter but he hasn’t shown any indication of that so far this year. He is hitting 39.4% from the floor, 14.3% from three point range and 50% from the free throw line so far this year. If Hayward doesn’t start shooting better Jerry Sloan is going to nail his butt to the bench. 23-year old forward Jeremy Evans doesn’t get much P.T. but he makes the most of the minutes he does get. Evans has played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Jazz so far this year and he is averaging 7.0 minutes, 4.0 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.

23-year old shooting guard Wesley Matthews was signed as a undrafted rookie by the Jazz and all he did was play in all 82 games (48 starts) in which he averaged 24.7 minutes, 9.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. He will be counted on in the playoffs as he will likely be starting at shooting guard. 23-year old shooting guard Sundaita Gaines played well when he got onto the court. He played in 32 games (0 starts) for the Jazz this year and he averaged 6.8 minutes, 3.3 points, 0.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. His big moment came when he hit a last second shot to beat the Cavaliers this year. 24-year old SG/SF Othyus Jeffers didn’t get signed by the Jazz until late in the season. He played in 14 games (0 starts) for the Jazz this year and he averaged 5.2 minutes, 2.6 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.

23-year old rookie shooting guard has really stepped up lately. In his last 18 games, Matthews is averaging 29.7 minutes, 12.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Matthews is also shooting 53.3% in his last 18 games giving the Jazz a huge offensive boost. Matthews has now played in 77 games (43 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 23.9 minutes, 9.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.

Guards Wesley Matthews and Sundaita Gaines both were undrafted last June but they have both helped the Jazz this season. Matthews has played in 56 games (22 starts) for the Jazz this season and he is averaging 21.8 minutes, 8.2 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. He is back into the starting lineup at shooting guard for the Jazz after the trade of Ronnie Brewer. Gaines has played in 13 games (0 starts) for the Jazz and he is averaging 7.8 minutes, 3.7 points, 0.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Gaines will be most remembered for hitting a game winning shot against the Cavaliers in Salt Lake City as time expired.

The rookie Wesley Mathews has been a huge steal for the the Utah Jazz this season.  The Jazz didn’t even have to use a draft pick on him since the 6’5″ 220 lbs. Mathews was undrafted out of Marquette and the Jazz signed him as a free agent.  He has been playing with a big chip on his shoulder ever since getting passed up in the draft.  He has played in all 38 games for the Jazz (19 starts) and is averaging 8.4 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.1 assists on 48% shooting in only 23 minutes per game.  In his last few games, Mathews has really been effective in the short amount of playing time he is getting.  In the Jazz win over Miami last game, Mathews had 18 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal in only 18 minutes of play.  The game before that in a win over Dallas, he had 10 points in only 14 minutes.  In a win over Memphis on January 6th, Mathews had 15 points, 3 assists, and 1 rebound in only 20 minutes.  So, in three of his last four games Mathews has easily scored in double figures even though he averaged only 16.5 minutes in those four games.  This guy is extremely efficient and when he plays well the Jazz seem to win.  In the 16 games this season that Mathews has scored in double-figures, the Jazz have won 11 of them.  Coincidence?  I think not.  They really need to get this guy on the court more.