With the Utah Jazz limited to 8 players tonight, due to the Jazz’s blockbuster trade acquisition of Jaren Jackson Jr. (and “illnesses”), they still found a way to beat the Pacers 131-122. The Pacers also
had an unfortunate case of the flu, which happened to spread throughout their entire team; ultimately leaving them with 7 total available players. Believe it or not, one of the biggest losses tonight was Jusuf Nurkic being out; the Indiana Pacers were feasting on Kyle Filipowski and Lauri Markkanen, who were attempting to fill in the center position. This is a perfect example as to why the Utah Jazz made the trade for Jaren Jackson Jr. in the first place, and is a point of emphasis regarding Walker Kessler and a hopeful contract extension after the 2025-26 season is over. Below, I’ll touch on a few young players and their role with the Jazz going forward, along with snippets from tonight’s game vs Indiana.
Now, because the Utah Jazz are headed towards contention next year, the Jazz’s youth have to start showing signs of life if they want to be a part of what Utah is building. Tonight felt like a perfect opportunity for them to show what they can do. Out of the young guys who were on the floor tonight, and if I had to choose one guy who shines in his role more than others on a consistent basis, Brice Sensabaugh has shown what he can do on an NBA floor at a high level — and that skill is putting the ball in the basket. Realistically, Brice’s role is coming off the bench as the 6th-9th man on the roster. Why? Unfortunately, he is an abysmal defender, and with it being year 3 of his NBA career, and with the long track record of poor defensive production before he even stepped foot into the league, what we see now is likely around the production that he’ll provide for the foreseeable future. Along with other qualms, such as passing, this is why he is projected to be a rotation-level player instead of a consistent starter. However, the Jazz scaling him down and allowing to let him play his game in short stints can be beneficial next year as we attempt to make the playoffs. Tonight he scored 20 points and then added on 5 assists and a rebound.
Filipowski had a really solid outing tonight where he tallied a double-double with 16 points, 16 rebounds, along with 5 assists, 3 steals, and a block. I believe he also can carve out a role for the Jazz down the line, too. It seems the Jazz are embracing the thought of handling bigs, which has been a trend since the very start of the Jazz rebuild when they brought in Kelly Olynyk. Not only has this been a trend with the Jazz, but the Ainge’s constructed Celtics’ teams that have won championships with bigs who can pass in high-low actions, from the post, finding cutters, and running handoffs for guards in bigs like Kevin Garnett (yes, he could pass) and Al Horford. I think this is something Jaren will be able to provide on occasion, despite not being considered a passer throughout his career. If Kyle can clean up some of his passing turnovers and bring consistent spacing, then he could be a nice player to slide into a lineup with either Jaren or Walker, who can make up for Flip’s borderline non-existent rim presence.
I don’t have much to say about Collier, generally speaking, but here is a post I have posted previously on Twitter:
Tonight, however, he had a fantastic outing where he dropped a DOUBLE-DOUBLE with 17 points (6/16 FG) and 22 assists. He also managed to tack on 5 rebounds and 3 steals to his line. There is a world where he is our backup point guard going into next season, where he can facilitate the bench unit’s offense, and if we were to play him in a small-ball lineup with Jaren at the 5, then that could open up the floor for him, where he’s able to get to the rim at ease just like he did tonight. The shooting and defense remain a big question mark, along with the fact that he carries more on-ball usage than is usually warranted for his archetype & playstyle.
The Pacers look like they have something with Johnny Furphy! He’s a guy who can dribble, pass, shoot, and dunk the basketball, all at 6’8”. I thought he was the most productive player on the court for the Pacers, and he finished with 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists in the loss to the Jazz.
Jazz basketball is going to look pretty different in the coming weeks, and I wonder how good we can be down the road. Only one way to find out; it’s going to be a wild ride! GO JAZZ!
