Utah Jazz PnB Awards: Bench Balls Of Fury Award
The Utah Jazz PnB Awards: Bench Balls of Fire
These are the 2014-15 Utah Jazz PnB Awards. Our panel of utterly unbiased experts have put our sizable heads together in an attempt to recognize Utah Jazz players that made a difference in a season the real experts picked far too meagerly.
"You shake my nerves and you rattle my brainToo much love drives a man insaneYou broke my will, oh what a thrillGoodness gracious great balls of fireI chew my nails and I twiddle my thumbsI’m real nervous but it sure is funCome on baby, you drive me crazyGoodness gracious great balls of fire–Jerry Lee Lewis"
Who is your Utah Jazz 6th Man of the Year and why?
Spencer Wixom: Bryce Cotton. I kid, I kid.
I think everyone will say Trey, but I’m going to go with Trevor Booker. He was good off the bench and provided a huge burst of energy with 7.2 points and 5.0 rebound in only 19 minutes. That’s essentially the same per 30 minute scoring as Trey Burke, but Booker was much more efficient.
When I think back on moments they impacted a game, I recall many more Booker moments than Trey moments. Booker was a better field goal and three-point shooter. Yes, Trey ran the offense and took way more shots, but he was one of the less efficient shooters in the NBA in 2015, which is why I go with Booker. Especially after Kanter was traded, the Jazz relied on Booker much more after the trade deadline as well.
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Jared Barker: Utah Jazz Sixth-Man of the Year would have to be Rudy Gobert.
Before he moved into the starting lineup we heard nothing but positive things from him. No grumbling. No complaints. He did his job to the best of his ability and along with Dante Exum helped the Jazz transform the defense.
Clint Peterson: Jared, is there an award you wouldn’t give to Rudy?
Jared: …
Ryan Aston: The thing is, it’s not THAT unreasonable…
Trevor Booker would be my pick, but I think Joe Ingles deserves some love as well.
Before the Alec Burks injury, and again after Rodney Hood entered the starting five, Ingles was the jack of all trades for the second unit. He played the 2, 3 and 4. He filled the G-Time point-forward role at times. He stretched the defense with three-point shooting.
For me, Trey Burke was too inconsistent throughout the year, but I loved the strides he made toward the end of the season.
Clint Peterson: Trevor Booker was obtained as a free agent for one purpose, initially: Bring a dose of nasty to a Utah Jazz team that had grown a little soft in the middle. Hell, grown a little soft around the edges and everywhere else, for that matter.
Booker was a consummate professional all season long, amiable and funny off the court, while leaving everything nasty out there on it. Booker led the Jazz in technical fouls this season with five, and set the tone for the team in preseason, scrapping with Blake “Hold Me Back Bro” Griffin.
Trey Burke started 43 games which would disqualify him from a Sixth-Man award, although Gobert and Ingles certainly both deserve some merit here as well.
Nevertheless, this is Trevor Booker’s award in my mind, especially the way he ended the season sticking up for not only his teammates, but fans and the state of Utah as well, defending us all from He Who Shall Not Be Named.
One could say Trevor was the Jazz’s Lucky Charm and “book-ended” his first season as Utah’s Cap’n Crunch. Please don’t kick me out guys…
Michael Tozer: My biased nature will take me away from Trey Burke and Booker for this award, which leaves me to pick my man, Slow-Mo Joe.
Ingles suprised everyone by not only playing meaningful minutes, but he also played 32 games as a starter. His averages of 5.0 points, 2.3 assists and 2.2 rebounds per game aren’t world-beating, but they provided the Jazz with another good serviceable option.
Ingles was ready and selfless enough to step into whatever role the Jazz needed of him, and only got better as the season wore on in terms of his shooting percentages, assists and steals.
Greg Foster: Trevor Booker.
For the majority of the season, the Jazz had a massive logjam in its front court. This didn’t give Trevor Booker a massive amount of minutes, but he made damn near every one of them count. His numbers aren’t exactly gaudy—7 ppg, 5.0 boards, 0.5 blocks—and in turn aren’t a fair way to measure his impact.
Regardless, Trevor Booker was the Jazz’s lunch pale guy—a guy that every team needs. He’s the type of player that Jazz fans have continuously fallen in love with—Antoine Carr, Demarre Carroll and Matt Harping can all attest to this.
My favorite thing about Booker is his hustle. He’s all grit and energy. He plays with an unwavering sense of determination meshed with a take-nothing-from-nobody demeanor. He’s a tough guy, cut from the same cloth as Charles Oakley and Anthony Mason.
And that kind of attitude is contagious and electric. None of you can tell me that Booker’s style of play didn’t have a major impact on the rest of his teammates. He fueled the bench and brought everything he had every time he stepped on the floor.
I love Trevor Booker. He made it easy to like him. His impact for the Jazz this season can’t be ignored. He may not have been its heart and soul, but his presence was always a breath of fresh air. And that, above all, is why Trevor Booker is my 6MOY.
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Final tally: Trevor Booker 4, Rudy Gobert 1, Joe Ingles 1
Congratulations, Fitz, you win the inaugural Bench Balls of Fury Award from The J Notes! Here’s a 20-lb. bag of Lucky Charms marshmallows for your prize.
Trevor Booker wins a 20-lb. bag of Lucky Charms marshmallows for the 2015 Utah Jazz PnB Bench Balls of Fury Award
Don’t eat ’em all in one place! Or sitting.