Utah Jazz Must Ease Gordon Hayward’s Burden

Perhaps no player in the NBA was relied upon more heavily by their team during the 2015-16 season than Utah Jazz star Gordon Hayward.

202 miles is a long way to travel; just ask Gordon Hayward. In the 80 games he played for the Utah Jazz this season, it’s the distance he traversed while shuffling around the hardwood like a madman, desperately trying to get his squad into the NBA Playoffs.

To give you an idea of just how far that is, it’s also the exact distance from Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City to Afton, Wyoming.

Ever wanted to see an arch made entirely of elk antlers? You should head to Afton–they’ve got one. The arch weighs 15 tons, consists of 3,011 antlers and spans 75 feet across four traffic lanes of Highway 89. The fact that the thing exists is unfathomable; a strange triumph of human will over nature itself.

Not unlike the fact that Hayward somehow traveled 202 miles while playing basketball.

Only C.J. McCollum covered more ground, eclipsing Hayward by just under three miles. This tells me two things. For one, the Trail Blazers must have McCollum on some kind of crazy, Ivan Drago-esque supplement regimen. Second, and more pertinent to those of us here in Jazzland, Hayward needs some help.

With the Jazz lacking in overall talent, the team needed Hayward be everywhere on both sides of the ball to compensate. He literally ran himself into the ground doing what his teammates could not.

Of course, a talent shortfall and a lack of depth go hand in hand. And when depth becomes an issue, star players are usually required to play more minutes for a team to have success.

So, in addition to the literal miles he put on his feet, severely strained plantar fascia and all, Hayward spent more time on the court than any player in the entire league during the regular season, save James Harden of the Houston Rockets. In total, the 26-year-old logged 2,893 minutes of play.

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For frame of reference, one could watch Star Wars: Episode One — The Phantom Menace exactly 21¾ times from start to finish, over and over again in succession in the same amount of time.

Without question, that would be a painful experience. One can only imagine what it was like for Hayward to log an equivalent amount of time on the floor, especially given his excess of movement.

What I’m getting at here is that the Jazz need to ease Hayward’s burden on the basketball court.

For years, people have debated whether or not Hayward is a true No. 1 option on an elite team; whether his production warranted such a role. Meanwhile, I wonder how much that production would spike if things came a little easier. If he moved a little bit less. If the team had the horses to spell him from time to time. If he had more guys that could work to get him shots instead of the other way around.

The only way it’s going to happen is if Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey can upgrade the roster this offseason.

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Some fans bemoan the fact that Hayward is Utah’s best player. They clamor for Lindsey to make the big move to bring a legitimate superstar into the fold. Given the team’s six-year playoff win drought, there’s definitely cause to buy into that line of thinking.

Still, I wonder what Hayward could accomplish if he and Jazz coach Quin Snyder simply had more arrows in their quiver.

In either case, moves must be made. Jazz brass can’t stand pat and allow Hayward to bear such an unreasonable burden.

If they do, there may be consequences. Both for Hayward and the Jazz organization.