Probably the biggest question for the Utah Jazz this season is at center. After the Walker Kessler trade, Utah went from having a clear center rotation to facing major lineup questions.
The problem has really come down to two options. Whether the Jazz want Jaren Jackson Jr. to start at center or to have recently re-signed Jusuf Nurkic start. I’ve written before about whether Jackson Jr. could work at center. The CliffsNotes of that is that, despite the narrative that Jackson Jr. can’t start at center,
it actually works if you have enough size and rebounding around him. So, if you accept that JJJ could work at center, you have to decide if it’s worth it, or if you want to avoid the rebounding issue by having Nurkic start.
There are pros and cons to both:
With Nurkic starting, you’re going to have a massive front line of Jusuf Nurkic, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Lauri Markkanen. Rebounding will now become a strength instead of a problem. Nurkic can also become a passing hub in different scenarios with the starting unit. The cons? Lauri Markkanen will not be in his natural position at the 4 and can’t guard 3s, making the perimeter defense an issue. Jusuf Nurkic is a solid rim protector, but he’s going to struggle in isolations on the perimeter. The sheer size of the lineup could make the Jazz a better defensive team, but they’re losing athleticism.
With Jaren Jackson Jr. starting, you likely slide Ace Bailey into the starting lineup, and you become athletic at every position and have lineups with 5 high-level shooters/scorers at each position. Utah could run a true 5-out offense that could be nearly unguardable for opposing defenses. On defense, you have more athleticism at every position, which gives you some interesting options on the defensive end that you can’t always do with Nurkic. The cons? Ace Bailey is still developing and still has to prove he can defend the wing consistently. You also have the rebounding issue with Jaren Jackson Jr., as well as his propensity to get in foul trouble.
Personally, I think that Jackson Jr. at center with Ace Bailey at the wing is the better choice. There are benefits beyond X’s and O’s, too. Ace Bailey and Darryn Peterson get invaluable time with the other core starters to build chemistry and develop while still winning games. The sooner and more often they play together, the sooner they can develop into a winning core with the team veterans.
But what would the Jazz defense look like? If Lauri Markkanen and Ace Bailey can rebound well enough alongside Jaren Jackson Jr., then you can fix the rebounding issue while benefiting from the pros that lineup brings.
The closest comparison with Jackson starting is probably the Miami Heat defense with Bam Adebayo at center and his ability to switch almost every position. Can Jaren Jackson do the same thing with the Jazz? It’s worth trying to find out. Having Lauri Markkanen and Ace Bailey in the frontcourt gives Utah the size to switch against other frontcourts. Ace Bailey is also key to these lineups, with his ability to defend guards while still having the size to potentially guard bigs. Bailey has appeared bigger in his offseason workouts. If he can hold up, Utah can become really interesting defensively.
Back to Bam Adebayo and the Heat. With more versatility and switching on defense, you have to have your center able to guard on the perimeter. Here’s what that looks like with Adebayo.
The thing is, Jaren Jackson Jr. can do all of these things too. Watching his DPOY season clips you can see how often he actually was at the center position and playing well.
With Jackson Jr. starting at center, that apparent weakness of lacking size in the frontcourt may become a strength in different ways. Could Utah become more versatile defensively and maybe be even better than we thought? Offensively, it’s very likely Utah is dominant with JJJ at center. But it’s not out of the question that Utah could become a good defensive team too if they hit their ceiling.
Whatever the case, it’s worth trying instead of settling for a defense with known limitations simply to improve rebounding. There’s no upside in that scenario. But with JJJ at center, Utah has a chance to have a DPOY-caliber season from Jaren Jackson Jr. that could vault them into the top of the Western Conference. This potential lineup has some serious upside, and I’m hoping this is the direction that the Jazz go.
