Joe Ingles Has Morphed Into Utah’s Non-Conventional ‘3-And-D’ Weapon

The Utah Jazz stole Game 4, even in front of their home fans in Salt Lake City. Before tip-off, the Jazz were, in fact, favored according to the good folks in Las Vegas and Utah did receive the benefit of the seemingly unlikely return of Rudy Gobert. However, Gordon Hayward, who operates as Utah’s centerpiece offensively, was dealing with a bout of food poisoning and that ailment kept the soon-to-be free agent from contributing beyond 9 uninspired minutes. That, along with a reduced workload from Gobert, placed the Jazz in an unfortunate position against a motivated Clippers team but the end result was highly favorable in a 105-98 victory.

As you might imagine, there was more than one hero in what quickly could become a memorable performance but the obvious headliner was Joe Johnson. The seven-time All-Star (trademarked name) finished with 28 points (on 17 shots), five rebounds and five assists while jumping quickly into the time machine and Rodney Hood added 18 (very) important points in 35 minutes off the bench. Throw in a 15-point, 13-rebound game from Gobert and solid across-the-board play from George Hill and you have the recipe for victory.

With that said, there was an unlikely and wildly important “hero” during the proceedings and it was a 29-year-old Australian forward named Joe Ingles. It isn’t as if Ingles is completely anonymous, as he appeared in all 82 regular season games for the Jazz while averaging 24 minutes per contest. Still, running down the list of centrally important players on an extremely deep roster would find a lengthy list of more famous contributors and Ingles’ rout to the NBA was not a conventional one.

The third-year “veteran” went undrafted originally and, now famously, Ingles was ironically in training camp with the Clippers just a few years ago. Ingles hit the ground running when he arrived, though, and the versatile 6’8 forward has been absent from only four regular season games over a three-year period.

In 2016-2017, Ingles made something of a leap and that arrived before the playoffs even began. He converted a blistering 44.1 percent of his three-point attempts for the season and, in today’s NBA, that is a quick way to gain recognition. Ingles’ work goes far beyond the specialty of shooting, however, and his entire game bled through the festivities in Salt Lake City for Game 4.

In the game, Ingles produced eight points, six rebounds, and a team-high 11 assists while generating a +13 across 38 minutes of playing time, and only Hill was on the floor more often. The former journeyman has been a fixture defensively throughout the series, even shadowing “Point God” Chris Paul at times, and that incredibly important skill set was also on full display. Paul was incredible, scoring 27 points and dishing out 12 assists, but Ingles was a pest at times and his work in deterring J.J. Redick (3 of 11, 12 points) was vital to the overall product.

Because he is not an elite athlete by any stretch (and, well, because’s a 29-year-old white guy from Australia), Ingles does not jump off the screen as a potentially dominant and impactful defender but that is exactly what he is. His positioning is almost always flawless and he brings length and acumen to the table in a high-level way to both pester opponents on the ball while simultaneously working in passing lanes and thinking multiple moves ahead of the offense. It would be aggressive to tout Ingles as a pure “stopper” along the lines of Tony Allen or even Marcus Smart but he is quite easily an above-average defender that trends toward even more than that.

Offensively, it isn’t as if Ingles is the picture of stardom either, but his shooting opens up a lot of things for the Jazz. The 44.1 percent from this season might not be fully sustainable over the long haul, but Ingles is established as a big-time shooter and his passing ability (cue the 11 assists from Game 4) is rare for a player of his stature. Functioning as a secondary creator on a team full of talent is certainly helpful and Ingles has risen to the challenge of higher usage when called upon.

In the current NBA landscape, Ingles happens to be hitting free agency at the perfect time. He will turn 30 by the tip-off of next season and that, of course, isn’t ideal. Aside from that hiccup, though, Ingles brings the “3-and-D” archetype that virtually every NBA team could use in the immediate future and he isn’t a player that is in any way uncomfortable with the ball in his hands if asked to do more. Could Ingles morph into an All-Star? Likely not, but his work as a starter in this series has flashed to the point where it would not be unreasonable to picture him in that role on a full-time basis, even if it isn’t in Utah.

It would take another superhuman effort (or two) on the big stage of the playoffs to generate the type of notoriety that Ingles likely deserves at this point time. With that said, he has already proven to be an invaluable member of the 2016-2017 Utah Jazz and, in the process, has likely cashed in for what should be a handsome pay day in just a few weeks.