Jacob Eisenberg

Joe Ingles / 27 Years Old / Restricted Free Agent this Summer (Jazz extended $1.05 million Qualifying Offer in June) / Undrafted / 6-foot-9 with shoes / 216 pounds / 6-foot-10 wingspan / Agent: Bradley Ames  

Joe Ingles: A Story of Two Seasons

• After a slow start to his NBA career, trying to work his way into the Jazz rotation, Ingles rebounded after the All-Star Break and was instrumental toward Utah’s 19-10 finish to the season. 
• Considering Ingles’ dramatic improvement, I pulled all of his statistics post-ASB for remainder of report…

Ingles thrives with good passing:

• Ingles is elite at shooting 3-pointers when surrounded by guards. Shot 30-49 (61%) on 3-pointers off of passes from guards. Shot only 7-for-31 (22%) on 3-point attempts that came on passes from big men.

Ingles is best suited for an up-tempo offense:

• Ingles is great shooting early in the clock — especially from the perimeter. Shot 16-for-25 on 3-point attempts coming within first nine seconds of shot clock (unclear if these shots came off of offensive rebounds or in transition)
• Utah scored 1.25 points per possession when Ingles led transition opportunities last year (79th percentile among NBA players.)

Shot tendencies are a positive (not a ball-stopper):

• Largely a catch and shoot player (shot 33-for-69 from deep on C+S post-ASB), will rarely force a pull-up shot.

Biggest area for concern with Ingles is that he’s very turnover prone (just 1.28 AST/TO ratio)… by far his biggest weakness as a player.

• In Utah, he was put into situations where he had to create as primary ball handler. He’s a great passer but is oftentimes careless with the ball. Best suited as a secondary or tertiary facilitator (like Draymond Green). 

• Still, Utah thrived with him on the court post-ASB, outscoring opponents by 3.4 points per 100 possessions.

INGLES’ PASSING

• While turnovers are his biggest weakness… his court vision and passing abilities are through the roof:

• Knows how to manipulate the defense through his drives and is an expert at cross court passes. 

Offensive shot location chart:

• Great at the corner three pointer. Shot 13 for 26 (50%) from corners post-ASB.

DEFENSE

Ingles is strong defensively:

• Ingles is an above average defender. Holds opponents to 40.4 FG%. Good everywhere on the court defensively (but slightly below average within 6-feet). 
• Opponents shot 17-for-42 (40%) against Ingles in isolations last season
• Opponents shot 10-for-19 in post-ups situations against Ingles last season
• Ingles has great hands defensively… Uncanny ability to disrupt the ball handler without fouling. 

Ingles’ Defensive FILM ROOM:

NBA INSIDER TAKES:
David Blatt: “He was the 15th roster spot or something like that and he’s worked his way into the starting lineup and is a major contributor to a Utah team who has seen great improvement in their game and in their results. Joe was part of a European championship last year. He helped us a great deal. But not a lot of people really expected to see him in the NBA this season. Now he’s a starter and a major contributor so, as a guy who I really like and a guy I got the chance to work with, I’m extremely happy for him.”

Matthew Dellavedova: “I’ve played with him for a few years with the national team. He’s a really good teammate. He’s a character… a very funny guy. He really knows how to play the game. I think he just makes it easier on his teammates. He’s played as more of a 3 with the national team and we haven’t really gone small too often. But I definitely think he’d be capable of [going to the four]. With the way that the NBA’s going with spread offenses and pick-and-rolls, having a four man that can shoot and pass like he can do would be ideal. It’s pretty funny that they’re still making him carry the rookie bag because he’s a veteran. He’s played professionally since he was I think 17 or 18. He just really knows how to play the game. He’s played in big games for the national team and overseas in Europe. He just does all those little things to help the team win.” 

Patty Mills: “He’s great. He’s a leader and he’s been playing for a long time now. His ability to play off the ball has been his strength. Then obviously his size and his length as well. When he does have the ball he’s able to make point guard plays and that’s the beauty of his game. His length and his size and his sort of point guard mindset is what makes him unique. He’s definitely played over his time on the national team the stretch-4 at times. All the way from point guard to the 4 and even the 5 at times. That’s the beauty of his skill-set all around.”