Three thoughts on the Utah Jazz’s 114-106 loss to the Phoenix Suns from Salt Lake Tribune Jazz beat writer Andy Larsen.
1. Cody Williams' career-high
13 points on 10 shots isn’t really a night to write home about for most NBA players, even for most NBA rookies. For Cody Williams, though, it is: it’s only the second time in his NBA career he’s taken double-digit shots (the first time he did, in November, he went 2-11), and 13 points is a new career high. Yes, Williams' start to his career has been rough.
But on Saturday afternoon, he showed off some of the skills he’ll need to turn that around.
The touch near the basket out to about 15 feet continues to be his best skill. To drive and finish like this on Kevin Durant is terrific:
And then this looks like a move Durant might do himself.
There are so many times when he looks super raw, still. The Phoenix commentators are right on this one: the footwork is all off, and his balance going into and out of the shot is poor. The result? A rough brick.
And this spin is so loose.
So right now, he’s at a spot where his ballhandling and footwork prevents him from being able to use his best skills regularly. If he does get better at that — and he’s so young, and has so much time to improve — we’ll see more nights like tonight, or even better.
2. Elijah Harkless' NBA debut
New Jazz two-way signing Elijah Harkless made his NBA debut on Saturday as well. Harkless signed a contract with the Jazz on New Year’s Day after a successful season and change with the Clippers' G-League team; he even played this summer in Canada with the Saskatchewan Rattlers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League.
I assume many Jazz fans, even relatively hardcore ones, won’t know much about Harkless. Last Friday, I went to his second game with the Salt Lake City Stars, and asked him to introduce his game to Jazz fans.
“I’m competitive. Best on-ball defender on the planet,” Harkless said. “So that’s me.”
I’ll need to add a little more, then.
It’s true Harkless' most-well known attribute is his defense — you might remember him locking up the Jazz’s guards in summer league action this year, really bothering both Keyonte George and Isaiah Collier as they tried to bring the ball up the court.
But recently he’s been on fire offensively, too. He was a bad 3-point shooter in college, but he shot over 40% both last year and this year in the G-League. He averaged 30 points a game on really solid efficiency in his most recent G-League play with the Stars.
That combination gets you to the NBA, every time.
The questions are these: First, he’s only 6-3. Can he continue to be a quality on-ball defender against bigger and faster athletes? Second, he’s not really a great advantage creator or passer — does he just kind of get washed out in the NBA? We’ll see.
Regardless, I kind of love the story. He wasn’t really recruited out of high school, then went to Cal State Northridge. He transferred twice, going to Oklahoma, then UNLV. After a five-year college career, he wasn’t really at all considered for the NBA Draft, and ended up going 23rd in the G-League Draft. That he worked his way up in the basketball world from a nobody to getting NBA game time is already awesome.
3. A Collin Sexton shot I don’t like
Jazz are down nine with five minutes to go in the fourth. Grayson Allen hits a three, and then this is the ensuing possession:
I, uh, do not like Collin Sexton walking the ball up the floor, dribbling a lot, calling for a screen, not using it, then pulling up for a three that misses so badly that it clanks out of bounds. 16 seconds of offense wildly wasted.
I also do not think Will Hardy liked that shot. I’m not the world’s best lip-reader, but I think he says “I’ve had enough” at the end of the video above.
Now, maybe someone had asked him if he wanted more Gatorade or chewing gum or popcorn or something, and he was just saying that he had had enough of those. It’s the fourth quarter, he’s full. But I suspect that his remark was about Sexton’s shot.
Regardless, this kind of play isn’t helpful for anyone. It doesn’t help the Jazz’s youth, it doesn’t help the Jazz win, it doesn’t even help Sexton. The NBA believes he can shoot and score by now. They’re worried about the other stuff.
It’s tricky. In a season that doesn’t matter, it’s still most educational for the Jazz to treat every possession like it does. Maintaining that level is hard, but Sexton didn’t do that here.
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