After a feisty and generally entertaining 48 minutes of basketball, the Utah Jazz ultimately fell to the Portland Trailblazers, 119-135. But hey! This loss with zero minutes of Lauri Markkanen will allow us to dodge the $500,000 anti-tank hammer viciously swung down on the… win with 25 minutes of Lauri Markkanen. Adds up.
Brice Sensabaugh was the teams leading scorer tonight, dropping a calm, cool, and collected 28 points. His ability to operate on and off the ball will be key for Utah’s offense next
year – every bit of off-the-dribble creation will be valued when paired up with the off-ball scoring of Jaren Jackson Jr. and Lauri Markkanen. For that reason, I’m all for continued experimentation from Brice to close out the year, as long as he understands that some of the early shot clock isolations will have to dialed back as the team gets ready for some serious, competitive basketball.
The rest of the team showed the flashes that we have come to expect; Ace exploded for some startling dunks, Collier continues to fear no man when he has a head of steam, and Filipowski displayed the fascinating versatility of agility and strength that makes him a fun long term option in the front court. The youth of the team really started to show, however, in the 3rd quarter. The Trailblazers threw out a lineup featuring Jrue Holiday, Sidy Cissoko, Toumani Camara, Jerami Grant, and Donovan Clingan – that groups size and defensive intensity really threw a wrench into the offensive flow the Jazz had built in the 2nd quarter. Jrue Holiday, in particular, was the Jazz-killer of the night, with a stat line of 31 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists – it was clear that his 17 years of NBA experience gave him a significant leg-up compared to the 10 combined years of experience of the Jazz starting lineup.
A moment for the newcomers – each of Vince Williams Jr., John Konchar, and new signee Blake Hinson had moments to show their value tonight. Vince Williams has a way of shifting the tone from the second he checks in. It seems that constantly he is trying his best to do a convincing Kris Dunn impersonation, a Jazzman who fans have remembered fondly for his sturdy defense and heady plays. Perhaps he took that impersonation too far, however – he was (oddly quickly) ejected after arguing over a call in the 2nd quarter, which, according to Andy Larsen, is the first Jazz ejection since the aforementioned Dunn. Still, the energy is much appreciated. Konchar provided some energy of his own, constantly finding ways to make his presence felt on the court. Blake Hinson, a recent signee from the G-League, played some key minutes, hit some nice threes, and really tried his best guarding 7’2 behemoth Donovan Clingan. I’d like to see more Hinson as the season goes on.
The race to the bottom continues! The Jazz currently have a bit of a cushion on both sides of the standings: 1.5 games behind the Nets, and 2.5 in front of the Mavericks, leaving them solidly with the 6th best lottery odds. They will have the opportunity to improve those odds after the All-Star Break; next time we see the Jazz play will be February 20th in Memphis at 5 P.M.
