Three thoughts on the Utah Jazz’s 116-87 win over the New Zealand Breakers from Salt Lake Tribune Utah Jazz beat writer Andy Larsen.
1. A first look at a possible rotation
Will Hardy has been clear: he will be using this preseason to experiment with rotational possibilities. So what we saw on Friday night shouldn’t be considered gospel for the regular season to come, but should be considered an experiment that the Jazz’s coaching staff wanted to evaluate.
With that in mind: the Jazz started Keyonte George, Collin Sexton, Taylor Hendricks, Lauri Markkanen, and Walker Kessler against New Zealand, with Cody Williams and John Collins the first two players off the bench. Jordan Clarkson was the team’s eighth man, with Brice Sensabaugh and Isaiah Collier coming later.
How did the experimentation go? I asked Hardy.
“If we’re just looking at the backcourts, obviously Keyonte and Collin have a lot of experience together — or, I guess, a lot of experience relative to the rest of our team together — and so they’re pretty comfortable together,” Hardy said. “I liked Isaiah and JC together. I think Isaiah has pace and willingness to get off the ball early, put a little pressure on the rim, which fits well with JC.”
That’s a good sign for those being Hardy’s preferred looks coming out of preseason, though obviously there’s still time for more experimentation. There is significant overlap between the skillsets of those four players, with all of them being much more comfortable scoring the ball than defending the ball. But playing George with Sexton does tend to help both of those players avoid taking on too much playmaking burden, which they can somewhat struggle with.
Hardy continued, explaining why he wanted to look at Hendricks starting next to Markkanen.
“I also thought that the Taylor and Lauri combo, for the time they spent out there, felt pretty good. It allowed Lauri to guard more of the four, and Taylor to guard more of a perimeter player. I thought offensively, they fit decently, but we’ll have to monitor that as the preseason goes.”
I tend to agree that Hendricks is a better perimeter defender right now than a interior defender — though playing him on the perimeter defensively removes one of his best collegiate skills, weak-side help blocks.
Offensively, though, playing with the starters simplifies things for Hendricks greatly: he should never really have to create off the dribble, instead simply hitting open threes, attacking closeouts, and running in transition. That being said, that’s also true for the rookie Williams, who I’m also eager to see next to Markkanen and Kessler.
2. Other notes on the youth
Given the lower level of competition, the fact that it was the Jazz’s first game, I don’t know that there was a lot to be learned from this contest overall. But given that it was our first chance to see the young players play in live action since summer league, it’s worth noting a few items:
• At the end of the game, the Jazz tried Brice Sensabaugh at point guard... and it didn’t go very well. Hardy talked postgame about how the look might put smaller defenders on Sensabaugh that he could bully a bit, but the handle was pretty loose. Sensabaugh is a very good shooter, but the big question is how to get him looks on a regular basis.
• Isaiah Collier had an up-and-down first game: six assists and five turnovers in 19 minutes basically tells the story. I’ve probably typed this with regards to young Jazz point guards dozens of times in the last decade, but: if they try to attack the rim, then make the pass once they’re swallowed up, it’s too late. The key is to pass right at the free-throw line, if not sooner, to take advantage of the shifting defense.
• Cody Williams had the game’s highlight-reel play:
Williams does not have a quick first step. But he is pretty consistently talented at reading imbalances in his opponents and then taking advantage of them, just like he does above. Frankly, in today’s NBA, I’ll take the latter skill over the former.
If that imbalance doesn’t happen, though, he’s pretty passive. He’ll need to develop more strength and ballhandling savvy to use that skill more often.
• Keyonte George played some really good point guard tonight, made a majority of his shots, and was very dangerous offensively. Defensively, he got beat multiple times by Parker Jackson-Cartwright. He does just need to do a better job of keeping his opponent in front of him consistently, though it’s so hard to know if that’s a real lack of effort or a preseason lack of effort.
3. Karim Lopez, future NBA star?
The New Zealand Breakers’ most interesting player, with all apologies to Tacko Fall, is Karim Lopez. At just 17 years old, he’s playing his next two seasons in Australia’s National Basketball League against adult pro competition — and he’s contributing at a pretty high level already.
Against the Jazz, he scored 13 points on 5-8 shooting, had seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Frankly, he looked like he belonged at the NBA level already, at least on this night.
Watching him, you can see why: at 6-8, he has great size for a small forward position; he has a significantly more pro-ready body than, say, Cody Williams. He uses that size effectively, too, disrupting passing lanes and defending well on the perimeter while finishing at the basket with impressive ease. The basketball IQ was pretty high, as he made well timed cuts and spaced the floor when needed. He looked just as good, or better, as some of the Jazz’s young players (again, on this particular night).
Nine NBA scouts had credentials for tonight’s game, and while it’s possible they were there to see the Jazz’s young players, getting a rare chance to see Lopez stateside was likely the priority. He has a cool story, as he’s seeking to become just the sixth player to make the NBA representing Mexico (none currently play in the NBA), and his father, Jesus, was a Mexican league star.
It’s still two years out, and so much can change. But he’s currently regarded as perhaps 2026′s best international prospect — NBADraft.net predicts he’ll be picked No. 10, while NBADraftRoom puts him No. 14.
So, yeah, there’s a non-zero chance he becomes a Jazzman down the road. If he does, Friday’s preseason game will be a fun part of Lopez’s NBA story.
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