Three thoughts on the Utah Jazz’s 131-128 win over the Golden State Warriors from Salt Lake Tribune Jazz beat writer Andy Larsen.
1. Jazz show growth in win
The Jazz were down by 11 — then scored in 11 possessions in a row and won the game. It was the polar opposite of the Jazz’s game on Monday, when they had that same lead but lost it late.
One nice term the franchise was using for this year was “a season of discovery.” And so far, we have mostly discovered negatives. The record reflects that.
But in this game, so many of those negatives were big positives.
• In an inefficient season in which he has struggled in the clutch, Jordan Clarkson popped off for 31 points, including some big shots late.
• Same goes for Keyonte George... but to an even greater degree. He scored 26 points on just 8-13 shooting, and even hit the game-winner. Really, really impressive.
• The Jazz’s defense has been awful this year, with star players getting whatever they want out there. Steph Curry was held to 32 points on 31 shots, which is incredible work from Utah. Isaiah Collier and George were both very good in their assignment on him.
• Turnovers have been the cause of innumerable losses this year, but the Jazz only had 13 this year.
• Isaiah Collier started the season with low-production spot appearances... now he’s starting and put up 20 points, 11 assists, and six rebounds tonight. He’s the first Jazz rookie to do that this millennium.
The Jazz even nailed the strategic aspects tonight. It’s easy to remember blown timeouts and bad fouls at the end of games... but tonight, up three, the Jazz strategically fouled Steph Curry perfectly to seal the win.
Losses are, in general, good for the franchise right now. But that 2025 draft pick alone won’t save the team; they’ll need to play better in all respects in order to be competitive over the course of a season. To show growth in this many areas in one night is very encouraging, from my point of view.
Of course, consistency in those areas is key. But I’ll take the baby step here — the journey towards improvement requires a first step, and I think tonight qualifies in many ways.
2. Walker Kessler’s movement
Walker Kessler’s play was the talk of the Jazz’s locker room after the game — pretty remarkable in a contest in which Clarkson put up 31 fiery points, while George scored 26, including a game-winner.
But two blocks of Kessler’s were absolutely key to the Jazz getting the victory tonight. The first was this beauty — look how Kessler defends both the corner, the driver and the dump-off pass all in one play here. This is pretty incredible big man movement:
This one was mostly Draymond Green’s fault for trying the layup in the first place, but Kessler made sure to punish the bad choice:
Those plays are... pretty Rudy Gobert-esque. Well, except that if Rudy had blocked Draymond like that at the end of the game, Rudy might still be staring Draymond down. Kessler sprinted down the floor to help out on offense.
But those weren’t even the plays that got the most plaudits from his teammates. Instead, it was his hustle plays all night long. Kessler had 18 rebounds in the contest, eight offensive and 10 defensive. Simply, Kessler’s effort impressed those guys.
“Big shout out to two-four (Kessler’s number). Big time blocks, his energy, when he’s like that, he’s a (expletive) monster. Like, I don’t even know how to really describe it in any other way,” George said. “I mean, when he’s playing like that, he’s a killer. So just wanted to shout him out for that.”
3. Thoughts on the trade
I was pretty lukewarm on the Drew Eubanks/Patty Mills/Mo Bamba/P.J. Tucker deal on Saturday. Essentially, I felt that to only get a second-round pick swap for the salaries the Jazz took on was iffy value relative to other deals. If I gave trade grades, I might have given it a C+. It made sense for the Jazz directionally, but wasn’t incredible.
The deal the Jazz made on Wednesday, though, was as A+ as this kind of trade can get. (If you haven’t seen, the Jazz traded P.J. Tucker’s contract to the Heat for Dennis Schroder’s contract, and received a 2031 second-round pick in return.) Remember, Tucker hasn’t played this season. Last season, he did play 15 minutes per game... and averaged 1.5/2.5/0.5 while shooting 35% from the field. The Clippers were significantly worse when he was on the floor, a -8.3 Net Rtg.
Frankly, players who put up those stats don’t usually get to play in the NBA the next season at all; that he’s staying away from the Clippers might have spared him some blushes on the court.
But luckily, the Jazz found the one team that might want him in the NBA — because he was a good player for them three seasons ago. And not only did the Heat take him, swapping an equivalently sized salary for him in the newly-acquired Dennis Schroder... they’re giving the Jazz a second-round pick for him. Not only any second-round pick, either: a second-round pick that is the most favorable of the Pacers and Heat. In other words, it should be a pretty good one.
Oh, and by the way: Schroder’s the better player in the deal. He makes $1.5 million more, but who cares? He singlehandedly pushed Brooklyn to a couple of wins early this season, and the Warriors had to part with three second-round picks in order to acquire him this year. He hasn’t played well with the Warriors, but to be honest, there might be a team that would be willing to give up another pick to give him a go. I’d rather be trading Schroder than Tucker tomorrow, that’s for sure.
Today’s deal also makes the first trade look a lot better, too.
I get it: fans want flashier deals. I want flashier deals. My hope is that the Jazz, one day, can make trades that get them Luka Doncic or De’Aaron Fox or whoever. At this point in time, they simply aren’t at a point where they’re realistic players for those trades.
In the mean time, you just have to build. Accumulating second round picks helps. Not a lot, but a little. Not as much as the No. 1 pick would help this summer, but some. And maybe, in 2030, the Jazz can use that 2031 second-round pick to get a player that’ll help Cooper Flagg and company.
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