Life as an NBA rookie just isn’t straightforward.
The celebration that follows draft evening is short-lived, and the blokes who’ve persistently been the most effective gamers on each staff they’ve ever been on are actually thrust right into a whirlwind world the place they need to show they even belong on a rotation.
For these coming from the collegiate ranks, they’re solely used to enjoying round 35 video games per season and having quite a lot of downtime. The NBA schedule stretches virtually year-round with Summer season League and pre-camp practices, coaching camp, preseason and an 82-game common season. Then there are the exercises and shootarounds, the additional exercises, the remedies. There are appearances, picture shoots, charity occasions, interviews and conferences with brokers, studying packages and new terminologies, and on prime of all of it, they’re anticipated to display their progress and enchancment.
It is loads to deal with and could be lonely, hectic and intimidating. Happily, the Utah Jazz rookies know one another.
“I really feel like I have been via three faculty seasons already, and we’re not even midway via this one,” Utah Jazz rookie Kyle Filipowski stated. “I could not actually think about being the one rookie on the staff to expertise that. I feel the blokes that did that, I give them quite a lot of credit score for being the one rookie on the staff and having to undergo a complete season on their very own.
The three Jazz rookies are capable of empathize with one another and see that they aren’t the one ones scuffling with the emotional and bodily difficulties of a primary yr within the NBA. Plus, they’ve examples of how struggles and work can begin to repay with three gamers on the roster who had been rookies final yr.
What has been made clear to all younger gamers is that they can’t be anticipated to be good, that they can not turn into completed merchandise in a single day and that enchancment just isn’t not linear. Their targets and expectations will change and develop as they go they usually should be assured that the individuals round them know what they’re doing and are guiding them in the fitting course.
As we strategy the midpoint of the 2024-25 season, and holding in thoughts the whole lot rookies are going via, it is a good time to guage the place they stand. What are their strengths and weaknesses? And the place ought to they focus their growth efforts?
Cody Williams
One of many major issues the Jazz had been in search of within the 2024 draft was good gamers. They needed gamers who might make good choices and take into consideration the sport. That is one of many causes they chose Cody Williams tenth total within the 2024 draft.
The Jazz brass knew he would be part of the staff with out bodily power and that it might take time for him to turn into his grownup physique and achieve weight. In addition they knew there could be expertise that might require cautious adjustment. However they trusted his basketball intelligence and thus far this season he hasn’t allow them to down.
“Cody’s largest power proper now’s his understanding,” Jazz head coach Will Hardy stated. “I feel Cody may be very not often out of place. I feel what he must proceed to enhance is the power that he performs with, as a result of there are occasions the place he is in the fitting spot and his physique place is fairly good, and he simply will get expel.
Enjoying with power and with the ability to preserve place will come partly from bodily power and literal bodily progress for Williams. However there is a component of “enjoying laborious” that Hardy believes Williams can obtain earlier than she builds up her muscle groups over the following couple of years. Studying angles and studying to make use of your legs to carry on may help alongside the best way.
Williams agrees that his best power is his decision-making and understanding of the sport, however he additionally has quite a lot of religion in his defensive skills. He needs to be often known as a flexible defender who can be utilized in any formation and is switchable. However he additionally is aware of that for his defensive expertise to shine, he should get stronger.
“It’s going to include time, nevertheless it’s positively like, you understand, you may have Joel Embiid and also you flip to him and it is like, okay, let me go elevate after the sport,” he stated. Williams stated with amusing. “Crucial factor, particularly for a thin man like me, is you actually must be according to the quantity you eat and elevate on a regular basis. You miss a meal a day right here and there, a meal per week, which may really waste your time.
So Williams does further lifting classes after video games and practices and tries to remain robust all through the season. Since it’s troublesome to achieve weight all through the common season, this represents quite a lot of preparation work in preparation for an offseason that will likely be extra intensive in terms of making an attempt to truly achieve weight.
Moreover, Williams is aware of he must be extra constant in his taking pictures, particularly as a result of he expects to be requested to do extra dribbling sooner or later, so he wants to verify his mechanisms are tight.
Isaiah Necklace
Isaiah Collier, who was the No. 1 highschool recruit in 2023, entered USC after with the ability to dominate as a driver and finisher. There was not often a time in Collier’s life when he did not suppose he might get the higher of a defender. The Jazz knew Collier’s life could be completely different within the NBA, however like Williams, Collier has a knack for decision-making that appealed to the Jazz.
The questions for Collier all through the season had been: How would he carry out in opposition to greater, stronger NBA gamers? Would he have the ability to alter his sport? And may he shoot the ball effectively?
Turning into extra of a playmaker and facilitator has been essential for Collier and he has answered that decision. He is aware of how you can entice defenders and is an excellent prepared passer. The questions that had been being requested about Collier earlier than the season began are nonetheless being requested, however there’s some context and nuance now.
One factor that stands out about Collier is his self-awareness. He has no illusions that he has issues found out and he is aware of he wants to wash up elements of his sport.
“Discovering open teammates, I feel that’s the largest power,” he stated. “Weaknesses? I imply, I really feel like there’s quite a lot of issues I have to work on proper now, like reducing down on turnovers, making the fitting play, penetrating an excessive amount of generally, hitting pictures… It is a studying course of and there’s no solution to go however up. I simply look ahead to studying on daily basis.
He’s completely proper. He wants to chop down on his turnovers, a few of that are attributable to extreme penetration or overconfidence when going through a number of defenders and never with the ability to use his measurement like he beforehand might. He additionally has quite a lot of work to do on his taking pictures (via 27 NBA video games, he was taking pictures 15.2% from 3). However altering, tweaking and correcting a participant’s shot is a really delicate course of.
The Jazz, after all, have a ton of information and do due diligence on gamers lengthy earlier than they arrive within the NBA. However despite the fact that they know there will likely be issues they need to repair, they do not need to leap in and make it their precedence from day one.
“We often attempt to let issues play out a little bit bit,” Hardy stated. “It could be such as you get your PGA Tour card, and the day you get it, I am like, ‘We’ll change your swing.’ You say to your self, “My swing seems okay, it obtained me on tour.” You need to let individuals expertise that earlier than you leap on them and say, “Hey, we will change your plan. »
“You additionally run the chance that they begin 0 for 10 from 3, they usually say, ‘Yeah, effectively, that is as a result of they’re altering my shot.’ After which they misplaced confidence within the course of. You need them to have some autonomy and confidence within the reasoning to vary their shot. And so when does that occur? world is a little bit completely different.
Kyle Filipowski
At this level, you are most likely noticing a pattern: The Jazz needed good decision-makers, gamers who suppose on their toes and may take in info shortly, and that is precisely what they obtained with Williams, Collier and Kyle Filipowksi.
“He actually sees the sport,” Hardy stated of the thirty second total choose. “I feel he’s an incredible playmaker and passer. We want extra exercise from Flip when he does not have the ball – i.e. operating down the courtroom in each instructions, sprinting in direction of the display, in addition to he helps us create an offensive benefit together with his display whether or not they change or not. As a result of I feel he is a very gifted participant when he will get the ball… however you need to be taught to do all these different issues which are a little bit extra refined to proceed to have an effect.
Filipowksi most likely got here to the Jazz as their most NBA-ready participant, regardless of being their final choose within the 2024 draft. He’s actually a gifted passer and has a grit on protection that has been stunning at first of the season. He is aware of these are the areas wherein he excels, however he’s additionally conscious that he can do extra.
Hardy hasn’t sweetened issues with Filipowksi and challenges him usually, which is welcomed by the rookie who stated he enjoys the off-field relationship he is constructing with Hardy. It’s this relationship which leads Filipowski to simply accept fairly harsh supervision.
“He stated he was going to proceed to be mad at me about this stuff, and I imply, that is nice, as a result of it reveals me that he nonetheless thinks about me,” Filipowski stated. “I feel there’s at all times room for enchancment in all features, even in my strengths. However I might most likely additionally say working extra on drop protection when enjoying the 5 and with the ability to change sides of the courtroom faster…being as intentional with out the ball as with the ball, setting laborious screens, operating to my places. quick.”
The vital takeaway for Filipowski — and admittedly vital for Jazz followers as effectively — is that small, nuanced incremental enchancment is value celebrating. The individuals who matter, the individuals who write the checks and who can decide the way forward for one’s profession, usually are not in search of sweeping, sweeping adjustments in a matter of weeks. What they hope is that small, refined enhancements will likely be clear and constant by the top of this season.
