With the NBA season right around the corner, and the Utah Jazz presumably being competitive for the first time in far too long, everyone is right to place the majority of the responsibility on the shoulders of our biggest names. We just drafted Darryn Peterson #2 overall in the NBA Draft, we just signed Keyonte George to a contract extension, and we just traded away a massive amount of draft capital (not to mention we’re paying him $50 million a year) to acquire Jaren Jackson Jr. These guys will
obviously play a huge role in our team’s success this year, but if this isn’t a true team effort from everyone involved, I believe that we are doomed to fail.
Long gone are the days in the NBA where we could throw 3 superstars on the floor and ride on their coattails. The league is much too talented for that type of strategy to work, so even though the aforementioned players will grab the headlines whether we win or lose, there are three players in my mind that will need to step up their game if the Jazz want to be successful. This is the first edition of my mini-series “The Burden of Expectation,” and I don’t think that there is anyone more vital to this team’s success from a role player’s standpoint than Kyle Filipowski.
I think that enough time has passed to where I can now comfortably say that Walker Kessler will be missed. The draft picks that we received in return are great, and I’m sure that Trader Danny will put them to good use eventually, but our frontcourt depth chart is looking… grim.
Our frontcourt depth wouldn’t have been elite even if we were able to retain Kessler’s services, but now that he’s in Tinseltown, it is quite worrying. Now, I’m not on Will Hardy’s staff (although I am open for hire), but I’d imagine that our starting lineup goes one of two ways:
a) Start Jaren Jackson Jr. out of position at the 5, Lauri at the 4, Ace at the 3, Darryn Peterson at the 2, and Keyonte George at the 1.
Or
b) Start Jusuf Nurkic at the 5 and push Ace to the bench, allowing JJJ to play his natural 4 position and making Lauri play out of position, and if the preseason is anything to go off of, it seems like this will be the starting lineup.
Regardless of which path we take, I don’t like the reality very much. Despite being 6’10”, JJJ averages 5 more rebounds a game for his career than I do, and with this being his 9th year in the league I don’t see a scenario where he magically becomes a double-double threat every night. Even if we were to start Nurkic, who IS a double-double threat, I worry about his ability to stay on the floor for the entire year and what other teams would do to him in the pick & roll. There is so much size in this league, and while casual viewers of this game will have you believe that just shooting from deep is the key to winning games, I believe that if you don’t have players on the floor who can fight for rebounds it will put your team at a significant disadvantage.
Lauri Markkanen isn’t exactly a Quincy Acy out there either, averaging 7 rebounds a night last season. When you look at some of the league’s best front court players, you’ll notice that even if they are considered elite at a different skill, they also show up on the glass. Nikola Jokic, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Victor Wembanyama all averaged over 11 rebounds a game last year, and when a potential starting frontcourt of Lauri and JJJ barely cover that combined, it’s important to look for other players who can step up. Enter: Kyle Filipowski.
Filipowski’s steady rise during his Sophomore season will get lost in the sands of time due to the team’s record, but his impact was noticed by those who were keeping a watchful eye on him. It was marginal, but he increased his scoring, rebounding, and playmaking output from his rookie season. His shooting splits did take a slight hit, but he did take over 150 more shots compared to his rookie year.
That kind of dip should also be taken with a pinch of salt as it was pretty clear, especially after the New Year, that the goal for the team was to develop and push players out of their comfort zone. Now that there are going to be define roles for this season, and now that Filipowski will have the chance to make a true impact off the bench, I think that we could be in for a very promising third year campaign from the quintessential hustle guy.
The raw counting stats won’t pop off the page, but you may be surprised to learn that Filipowski and his 0.9 steals per game was actually in the 86th percentile in the entire league last year. His forced turnovers (steals + offensive fouls drawn) was also relatively high being in the 87th percentile last year.
I will admit that most of his impact will have to be viewed through a “wishful thinking” lens, because at the end of the day scoring 11 points and grabbing 7 rebounds in 22 minutes a night isn’t going to win any sort of hardware at the end of the year. However, if you were to scale up his projected production, it could very well be the difference in a win or loss on most nights. Filipowski’s Per 30 numbers jump up to 14.6 points and 9 rebounds a night, and given our lack of size and skill in the rotation, I fully expect Will Hardy to trust a guy who’s been in his system for two years to play big minutes and fill any voids.
Again, if we were able to retain Walker Kessler, maybe Filipowski isn’t exactly needed to produce. Most third year role players aren’t ready to take that big of a leap, but that’s the essense of the burden of expectation.
The weight of the responsibility is heavy, and while you won’t find other outlets writing think pieces about Kyle Filipowski, his role and importance to this team cannot be undervalued. He can’t do it alone, of course. There are a few other players role players on our team that will have to carry the weight with him, but that’s what this team does best.
The Utah Jazz teams have always been established in team play and relying on each other to get the win. Sure, the coverage of Peterson this year will be fun, Keyonte’s fourth year is going to be very exciting, and seeing how JJJ and Markkanen play off of each other is tantalizing, but it does take a village. I believe that Kyle Filipowski is ready to contribute in a big way this year, and when he does, you remember who told you first.
Who else do you think will have an underrated impact on the team this year? What kind of rookie campaign do you think we’ll see from Darryn Peterson this year? Sound off in the comments!
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