By Dan Ferrara, NBA International

The Utah Jazz, who have endured injuries to starters Gordon Hayward, George Hill and Derrick Favors, are now surging, having won four games in a row. Their emergence from the cavern of franchises which were “close” to one abundant with young talent on the precipice of a playoff berth is in part due to some key bench contributions and a strong “next man up” mentality.

One crucial bench contributor has been power forward Trey Lyles, who has given the Jazz a much-needed boost in the absence of Favors, who has been sidelined with soreness in his knee due to IT Band Syndrome since November 17.

In the seven games Favors has missed, Lyles has averaged 12 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. In the two games in which he has played over 25 minutes, the power forward from Saskatoon scored a season-high 21 points in one and recorded his lone double-double in the other. The formula seems simple – get Lyles some minutes and he’ll give you some good production.

Still, the Jazz seem keen on limiting the 21-year-old and letting him ease into logging big minutes, though the talent and results are there. In his three starts this season, Lyles is averaging just under 23 minutes per game though his per-36 stats indicate he could produce near-Favors numbers given the sizable role.

Even the flaws in Lyles’ game could be helped with more experience and minutes. His 3-point percentage is noticeably down from a season ago as the transition to a stretch-4 has been a bit bumpy. Though Lyles is attempting over two more 3-pointers per game, his percentage is down nearly 12 points to a meager 26.8% on the season. Perhaps some of this can be attributed to poor shot selection or even rushing his shot due to the inconsistency in court time – Lyles may be pressing to get his buckets knowing his time may be limited.

Still, he has proven why the Jazz used their 2015 lottery pick to select him from the University of Kentucky, as he has shown the type of versatility that he did for John Calipari’s Wildcats.

Lyles has a 21.4% usage rate this season, up from 18.3% during his rookie campaign, showing his involvement in the offense is growing. His skill set is also becoming enhanced, as Lyles is finding different ways to score than he did when he first entered the league as a raw talent. While just 41.5% of his 2-pointers last year were unassisted, that number has skyrocketed to 63.3% in 2016-17, exhibiting the fact that he is much more adept at creating his own shot now.

Though he still has a ways to go, Lyles is currently keeping the Jazz (11-8) afloat while Favors rests his sore knee, and looks like he can be a key cog in the nucleus of the franchise for a long time.