NBA Utah Jazz

Rodney Hood Will Provide Scoring Punch for Utah Jazz, But Defense Remains Work In Progress

Fresh Videos

By @mrmarykateolsen

 

Rodney Hood Utah Jazz Blake Griffin LA Clippers

NBAE/Getty Images

Earlier this week, former Duke standout Rodney Hood finally made his debut for the Utah Jazz after missing the team’s first two games with an injury. To the delight of fans in attendance, Hood was able to provide an offensive spark while starting in place of the injured Alec Burks, connecting on 5-of-8 shot attempts from the field, scoring twice from 3-point range and finishing with 12 points in 33 minutes of play.

It was more of the same from Hood, who lit up the Las Vegas Summer League this past offseason with his long-distance stroke, essentially earning himself a spot in coach Quin Snyder‘s rotation. However, if he wishes to to keep that spot, he needs to do a better job of grasping the team’s defensive concepts and executing them on the floor.

As good as Hood was at spacing the floor in Utah’s 102-89 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, he was consistently victimized on the other end of the floor. Clippers sharpshooter J.J. Redick burned Hood several times, losing the Jazz forward through off-ball action and capitalizing on catch-and-shoot situations to the tune of 17 points.

At one point, cameras caught an impassioned Snyder strongly chastising Hood on his way toward the Jazz bench after a particularly egregious defensive series. As a team, Utah was arguably the worst defensive squad in the NBA last season, and Snyder is making clear the level of concentration he demands of his players defensively.

A rough defensive start guarding Redick notwithstanding, Hood has the physical potential to become a capable defender if he continues to hone that aspect of his game. His offense is already looking good; before the Clippers game, Hood nearly beat veteran marksman Steve Novak in a 3-point shootout, and his jumper has been consistently good from summer league to his debut against Los Angeles.

If he can get his defense to catch up to that shooting ability, Utah’s selection of Hood in the draft could end up looking like even more of a value pick than it already did.

Ryan Aston covers the Utah Jazz for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @MrMaryKateOlsen or add him to your network on Google.

Share Tweet
Trending Now on