How many times must I be subjected to some variation of the phrase “He’s only in his second year and he’s playing like a veteran” in reference to Rodney Hood? Since when is pump-faking and drawing a foul on a jump shot a “veteran move”? These Jazz commentators have such a hardon for this dude. Yeah, he’s playing great for where he was drafted. But don’t you expect a more polished game from a guy who was old for a rookie?
Whatever. If I had him on my team, I’d be telling everyone who would listen about how much of a stud he is, no matter how many years of college he sat out. I’d even tell my friends who don’t care about basketball because I have no concept of when I’m boring people when I talk.
Going into the season, the Jazz didn’t look they had a core. With Hood’s emergence, I am officially declaring that they have a core, and that their core contains these components: Rodney Hood, Gordon Hayward, Tibor Pleiss, and Rudy Gobert. Throw in Dante Exum if you’re feeling optimistic. Maybe not a championship-caliber core, but a core nonetheless. Better than nothing.