Los Angeles • The Jazz’s revolving door of who’s in and who’s out continued Sunday against the Lakers, with Ricky Rubio back to the bench, but Jae Crowder back from a right quad contusion.
Utah has featured 10 different starting lineups this season — with Rudy Gobert, Thabo Sefolosha, Joe Ingles, Royce O’Neale, and Donovan Mitchell beginning the game together for just the second time this year.
The team’s recent spate of injuries has meant that the most often-deployed lineup of the year — Gobert-Derrick Favors-Ingles-Mitchell-Rubio, who’ve started together 55 times — has been a rarity of late.
And in spite of that, the Jazz have somehow managed to maintain some semblance of continuity in their level of play, if not in who’s doing the playing.
Several members of the team said before the game that the key to maintaining a high level of play amid the injury chaos is because the team doesn’t change anything in its preparation.
“We practice the same way we do things [in games] — everyone’s in certain spots, we have multiple ballhandlers, we have guys who are always flowing; so our chemistry is different than most squads,” Mitchell said. “So it allows us to go out there and run plays, and guys know where to be, guys know their spots to be.”
Forward Georges Niang, who’s seen an uptick in minutes of late with Favors missing games and Crowder being in and out, agreed. He also noted that, at this point, the Jazz ought to be familiar with who’s doing what.
“I don’t think it’s really difficult at all. All of us are on each other all the time,” he said. “It’s late in the season, and all of us know each other and what our tendencies are — we play with each other in practice and know where everybody’s gonna be, and where the chips may fall, and where we need to be.”
Caruso inspires Niang
The Lakers’ rotation has been even more devastated than Utah’s with LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, and Josh Hart are all out for the season; Reggie Bullock and Lance Stephenson sitting out due to short-term injuries; and Rajon Rondo and Tyson Chandler as DNP-CDs. So L.A. has been giving opportunities to guys who perhaps wouldn’t have gotten them otherwise, like, say, Alex Caruso.
The former G League player took advantage in L.A.’s previous game, against the Clippers, scoring a career-high 32 points and adding 10 rebounds and five assists. His performance certainly got the Jazz’s attention going into their matchup.
“Whether you’ve seen him in Summer League or watching him play [in the NBA], he’s a really good player,” said coach Quin Snyder. “… Sometimes for young players in the league, it’s as much having some opportunity [as anything].”
Niang said he counts the Lakers guard as “a good friend of mine.”
“I’m really happy for him. He’s done a great job, with his situation, of always being ready and coming in and making something happen,” he said. “You cheer for guys that have stories like that.”
A former G League product himself, Niang was subsequently asked when he might be dropping a 30-plus-point night of his own. With mock indignation, he replied, “Man, you ask a lot!”
Then, after a pause of a few seconds, and a sly grin on his face, he concluded, “But, tonight.”
