Versatility is the keyword in Salt Lake City these days. Various sizes. Aging veterans. Youthful talent. Proven weapons in their prime. Yes, the necessary pieces are there to put the Utah Jazz in a position to repeat as regular-season champs and perhaps return them to the NBA Finals for the first time in almost a quarter of a century.
Even so, it’s still the time of year for trades and free-agent pickups. Therefore, the 2021-22 Jazz makeup might change a smidge before the season begins in late October (the full schedule comes out on Friday).
That said, a dozen or so guys appear worthy of playing time. As a result, eighth-year Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder should enjoy the freedom to get inventive in concocting crazy lineup combinations to keep his counterparts guessing from the opposite bench.
Utah Jazz</a> in a position to repeat as regular-season champs and perhaps return them to the NBA Finals for the first time in almost a quarter of a century.</p>
<p>Even so, it’s still the time of year for trades and free-agent pickups. Therefore, the 2021-22 Jazz makeup might change a smidge before the season begins in late October (the full schedule comes out on Friday).</p>
<p>Nevertheless, the <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/08/19/utah-jazz-3-crazy-lineups-stun-world/"https://thejnotes.com/2021/08/09/utah-jazz-10-projected-rotation-pieces/" rel="">core group of rotation players</a> seems all but set in stone at this juncture. And the starting five is likely to be an exact copy of the bunch that fueled a 52-20 record last season.</p>
<p>That said, a dozen or so guys appear worthy of playing time. As a result, eighth-year Utah Jazz head coach <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/08/19/utah-jazz-3-crazy-lineups-stun-world/"https://kslsports.com/466277/report-jazz-add-erdem-can-as-assistant-coach/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Quin Snyder</a> should enjoy the freedom to get inventive in concocting crazy lineup combinations to keep his counterparts guessing from the opposite bench.</p>
<p>With that in mind, let’s examine three wild possibilities, one at a time:</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/08/19/utah-jazz-3-crazy-lineups-stun-world/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> The giant lineup </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div class="embed embed-video"><iframe loading="lazy" width="500" height="281" src=https://thejnotes.com/2021/08/19/utah-jazz-3-crazy-lineups-stun-world/"https://www.youtube.com/embed/yxjU60hsCHs?feature=oembed%22 frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<h2>Crazy Utah Jazz lineup: Giants</h2>
<ul>
<li><strong>PG:</strong> Donovan Mitchell</li>
<li><strong>SG:</strong> Joe Ingles</li>
<li><strong>SF</strong>: Rudy Gay</li>
<li><strong>PF:</strong> Hassan Whiteside</li>
<li><strong>C:</strong> Rudy Gobert</li>
</ul>
<p>Like clockwork, basketball fads change over time. They’re cyclical. Eventually, as is the case with everything else in this world, the NBA’s gunslinger craze will go out of style.</p>
<p>To get ahead of the times, the Utah Jazz could choose to be a trendsetter next season when it comes to rolling out big men galore on the floor. The average player size of this proposed king-size bunch would be 6-foot-8, 242 pounds.</p>
<p>Yikes.</p>
<p>Not counting Donovan Mitchell, whose top-shelf athleticism and pace-control would mostly make up for any speed deficiencies among the rest, the mean measurements look like this: 6-foot-10, 248 pounds. Plus, the deep offensive toolboxes of Joe Ingles and Rudy Gay would help to guarantee enough perimeter scoring power.</p>
<p>Best of all, though, this collection would feature two 7-footers, each of whom has taken home his fair share of defensive accolades in years past. <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/08/19/utah-jazz-3-crazy-lineups-stun-world/"https://www.nba.com/jazz/news/rudy-gobert-racks-accolades-eighth-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rudy Gobert</a> is a three-time and reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Meanwhile, Hassan Whiteside once landed on an All-Defensive Second Team and has twice finished atop the league in total blocks — as recently as 2019-20.</p>
<p>Talk about a giant lockdown in the paint.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/08/19/utah-jazz-3-crazy-lineups-stun-world/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> The sniper lineup </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div class="embed embed-video"><iframe loading="lazy" width="500" height="281" src=https://thejnotes.com/2021/08/19/utah-jazz-3-crazy-lineups-stun-world/"https://www.youtube.com/embed/MDm7GFh_wcA?feature=oembed%22 frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<h2>Crazy Utah Jazz lineup: Snipers</h2>
<ul>
<li><strong>PG:</strong> Mike Conley</li>
<li><strong>SG:</strong> Donovan Mitchell</li>
<li><strong>SF:</strong> Jordan Clarkson</li>
<li><strong>PF:</strong> Bojan Bogdanovic</li>
<li><strong>C:</strong> Rudy Gay</li>
</ul>
<p>Chances are the NBA isn’t yet ready to end its recent 3-point fest, which the Utah Jazz partook in the last go-round to the tune of a league-leading 16.7 makes from downtown per game.</p>
<p>Fortunately for Quin Snyder, he has plenty of notable sharpshooters to pick from when employing a highly lethal long-range attack (see: Joe Ingles, Royce O’Neale, etc.). Yes, the above names represent just one of many potential Jazz lineups that would contain five verifiable deep-splash producers.</p>
<p>Notice that each of these five players wound up averaging at least 1.5 makes from deep in 2020-21; in fact, four tallied more than 2.5 per game. Also, except for high-volume shooter <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/08/19/utah-jazz-3-crazy-lineups-stun-world/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/clarkjo01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Jordan Clarkson</a>, they each shot better than 38.0 percent beyond the arc while doing so.</p>
<p>Just listen to all that swishing in the distance.</p>
<p>No doubt, like the other possible pure assortments of snipers in Utah, this crew may present some problems in the height department. However, remember that the 6-foot-8, 250-pound Rudy “Big Truck” Gay has been no stranger to holding down the five-spot across his 15 years as a pro. And then Clarkson is the only other man who’d be a tad undersized for his position here.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/08/19/utah-jazz-3-crazy-lineups-stun-world/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> The old-timer lineup </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div class="embed embed-video"><iframe loading="lazy" width="500" height="281" src=https://thejnotes.com/2021/08/19/utah-jazz-3-crazy-lineups-stun-world/"https://www.youtube.com/embed/SoIVSRC7xaM?feature=oembed%22 frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<h2>Crazy Utah Jazz lineup: Old-timers</h2>
<ul>
<li><strong>PG:</strong> Mike Conley</li>
<li><strong>SG:</strong> Joe Ingles</li>
<li><strong>SF:</strong> Bojan Bogdanovic</li>
<li><strong>PF:</strong> Rudy Gay</li>
<li><strong>C:</strong> Hassan Whiteside</li>
</ul>
<p>All five of these presumptive 2021-22 Utah Jazz players have shined somewhere at one time or another in recent seasons. Three have been crucial components in Salt Lake City for multiple years. Add in the fact that <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/08/19/utah-jazz-3-crazy-lineups-stun-world/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/conlemi01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Mike Conley</a> and Rudy Gay became successful Memphis Grizzlies teammates across five and a half campaigns together around the beginning of their careers.</p>
<p>Sure, one could argue that every member of this proposed Jazz quintet is officially past their prime. After all, each of these NBA “senior citizens” is at least 32 years old. And the average age will be 33 plus some change once the season gets underway.</p>
<p>Naptime is calling.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if only in brief spurts before tapping out with exhaustion, the been-there-done-that veterans here could together rediscover the prowess of their youth.</p>
<p><strong>ALSO READ:</strong> <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/08/19/utah-jazz-3-crazy-lineups-stun-world/"https://thejnotes.com/2021/08/16/utah-jazz-ranking-offseason-acquisitions/" rel="">Ranking every Jazz acquisition so far this offseason</a></p>
<p>Just take a gander at the career-high season averages and percentages from major categories across their lengthy professional tenures:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Conley:</strong> 21.1 points, 6.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds, 2.2 steals, 41.2 percent from three</li>
<li><strong>Ingles:</strong> 12.1 points, 5.7 assists, 4.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 45.1 percent from three</li>
<li><strong>Bogdanovic:</strong> 20.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 42.5 percent from three, 90.3 percent from the foul line</li>
<li><strong>Gay:</strong> 21.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.7 steals, 1.1 blocks, 40.2 percent from three</li>
<li><strong>Whiteside:</strong> 17.0 points, 14.1 rebounds, 3.7 blocks, 62.8 percent from the field</li>
</ul>
<p>Granted, any lineup without either of Utah’s active two-time All-Stars — 24-year-old guard Donovan Mitchell and 29-year-old center Rudy Gobert — is unlikely to stay on the floor too long.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="The 50 greatest Jazz players of all time" data-url="https://thejnotes.com/2021/04/15/utah-jazz-50-greatest-players-history/" data-call-to-action="Next"
> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/08/19/utah-jazz-3-crazy-lineups-stun-world/"https://thejnotes.com/2021/04/15/utah-jazz-50-greatest-players-history/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> The 50 greatest Jazz players of all time </a> </div>
</div>
<p>Still, this load of old-timers might be the most reliably productive option whenever injuries or foul trouble leave Quin Snyder with no choice but to give those two franchise pieces a simultaneous breather.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">