The Utah Jazz have one more preseason game, a road matchup against the Sacramento Kings. But it’s difficult to imagine the Utah starters playing big minutes in that one, considering the regular-season opener will feature the same two teams.
As of Tuesday, the Jazz are 3-1 in the preseason. They looked great against the Portland Trail Blazers, they struggled some against the Los Angeles Clippers and they blew out the New Zealand Breakers on Monday night in a game the starters didn’t seem to get much out of.
During training camp and the preseason, we’ve seen some trends as to how the Jazz are poised to operate this season. And we know things will be fluid for Utah.
Through it all, here are some of the things that have stood out so far.
If the preseason is any indication, Jazz star Lauri Markkanen is primed for a big season.
He’s been efficient and explosive inside the paint. He’s knocking down jumpers and getting into the paint off the dribble. He’s playing a bit of a different role for the Jazz this season than last. Last season, he split his time between small forward and power forward. In training camp and this preseason, he’s played almost exclusively at small forward, partially because the Jazz need to accommodate John Collins.
Markkanen is strong, quick and athletic, so he’s going to have a significant advantage in those areas, along with being a 7-footer. He’s also got the mindset and the confidence to take advantage.
What’s stood out about Markkanen so far is that his game hasn’t been affected by Utah’s guard play. Whether the Jazz are taking care of the ball on the perimeter, or throwing the ball into the third row, Markkanen has been productive. That’s a great sign because it means his game has grown. When he came to the Jazz last season, Markkanen was spoon-fed a bunch by Mike Conley. The structure of the offense has helped him a lot as well, in terms of the movement and the overall spacing. That Markkanen’s offense this preseason has been self-generated to a not-so-small degree is something that should encourage Jazz fans.
It’s harder to go from an All-Star level player, which Markkanen is, to an All-NBA level player. If the Jazz are going to reach the postseason, that’s what going to be needed from him. He’s going to have to be big in the first three-quarters of games. But he’s also going to have to put the Jazz on his back when it comes to closing games out. It will be interesting to see if he’s able to make the jump.
What the potential jump looks like should be just as interesting. Markkanen’s strength has never been iso creation from as far out as the 3-point line. The Jazz are going to have to put him in matchups where he can take advantage of his strong points as a player.
Jazz fans, think back to last season when Markkanen closed out the Minnesota Timberwolves. How did he do it? By isolating at the free-throw line and shooting and scoring over the top of a defender. Getting Markkanen 15 to 17 feet from the basket in clutch situations, having him either shoot over the top or take one or two dribbles, seems like a good way to go for him in closing situations. Can he make contested shots? Can he make the right reads when defenses load up on him? Those are questions he’s going to have to answer.
Those are the answers that are going to dictate whether he’s taken the next step as a player.
The Jazz know they have a lot of guards who deserve to be in the rotation and that will be an issue. Keyonte George or Collin Sexton? Kris Dunn or Ochai Agbaji? If the weakness lies in the lack of a standout talent — because George is a dynamic level talent who should break out sooner or later — then the strength is in depth.
With that in mind, head coach Will Hardy has experimented with the second unit. If you have a lot of guys who deserve to play, why not just throw them all in the same lineup and see what comes of it? On Saturday, in a win over the Portland Trail Blazers, Hardy went with Dunn, George, Sexton and Agbaji in that second unit, anchored by starter Walker Kessler.
The Jazz went from a jumbo starting group to an extremely small and yet speedy second group. The lineup allowed the Jazz to get out in transition and cause issues for the Blazers. On Monday night, Utah did the same against the New Zealand Breakers. But the Jazz were bored and not interested in playing, so there wasn’t as much to take from it.
“I think one thing that we liked offensively is that the group could create matchup advantages in the half court off the dribble,” Hardy said. “Defensively, they did a good job of pressuring the basketball and making it difficult for the other team to run offense.”
There are questions. The smaller lineup lacks real length and positional size outside of Kessler, or whatever big Hardy wants to attach as an anchor. Maybe more importantly, the lineup lacks the kind of shooting that small lineups typically enjoy. George is a shooter. Agbaji is a shooter. But, Dunn and Sexton aren’t shooters who create gravity in opposing defenses with their presence on the floor.
What this lineup can do is create off the dribble and create an advantage in transition. By putting Agbaji at power forward, his defense and athleticism stand out and give him a window at opportunities with and without the ball that wasn’t available earlier in the preseason.
Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George (3) drives against New Zealand Breakers forward Anthony Lamb (44) during the second half of an NBA preseason basketball game Monday, Oct. 16, 2023, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
It remains to be seen if Hardy sticks with the lineup in the regular season. And there are variations that he can use. For instance, on Monday night against the Breakers, Hardy threw three of the guards out in the same group, but added John Collins with Kessler, giving the group an extra big. At the very least, Hardy is finding ways to get some of his guys on the floor.
A plus with George is that he played a lot of small forward in his one collegiate season at Baylor. So, he’s been able to take that experience and have it translate to what the Jazz are trying to do.
“I played in a three-guard lineup in college,” George said. “So, I’m used to this. It’s just something we have to continue working on, and continue trying to figure out.”
In the last two preseason games, Hardy has started Talen Horton-Tucker along with Jordan Clarkson at the guard slots.
Utah Jazz forward John Collins (20) shoots as New Zealand Breakers forward Zylan Cheatham, right, defends during the first half of an NBA preseason basketball game Monday, Oct. 16, 2023, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Neither are point guards or floor leaders in a traditional sense, but both might be the kind of fit, in terms of skill set, that the frontcourt needs. Also, it might not be a coincidence that the Jazz began to look a bit better offensively with those two in the starting lineup.
Horton-Tucker isn’t a perfect player. He’s going to have turnovers and force and miss shots. He’s going to continue to be polarizing but also gives the Jazz a dynamic ballhandler with unique point guard size. He’s going to give the Jazz the ability to pressure the rim off the dribble, and he’s going to allow the Jazz to play advantage basketball, both in the half court and in transition.
The question is how big a trade-off are Horton-Tucker’s strengths versus the warts in his game? By starting him, the Jazz wouldn’t have a natural point guard. But they would be starting four guys who either have size or athletic advantages unique to their positions. Hardy has been adamant in saying that the starting backcourt in Game 1 won’t necessarily be the starting backcourt in Game 10 or Game 20. He’s going to use a lot of different combinations and a lot of different lineups. Some players will close games on one night and not close games on another.
A lot of what happens early in the season will be dictated by early returns. This is a topic that may persist for a while.
— This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
