Three thoughts on the Utah Jazz’s 125-122 loss to the Washington Wizards from Salt Lake Tribune Jazz beat writer Andy Larsen.
1. #TankNote
Let’s look at tonight’s injury report.
OUT - Jordan Clarkson (left plantar fasciitis)
OUT - John Collins (low back - injury management)
OUT - Keyonte George (illness)
OUT - Elijah Harkless (G League - Two-Way)
OUT - Taylor Hendricks (right fibula fracture)
OUT - Walker Kessler (rest)
OUT - Lauri Markkanen (low back - injury management)
OUT - Collin Sexton (left ankle - injury management)
OUT - Jaden Springer (low back soreness)
Which of those were real?
While illness can be a sketchy injury designation for many teams, I haven’t seen the Jazz use that much illegitimately. I suspect Keyonte George was actually sick. We also know Jaden Springer left Monday’s game with back spasms, and so it would make sense that they hold him out the next game as a result. Unfortunately, we all saw Taylor Hendricks' leg break. And Elijah Harkless missed the SLC Stars' last game due to a groin strain, so makes sense the Jazz didn’t call him up.
Every other player could have played, though — especially the Jazz’s best players.
Clarkson has fought plantar fasciitis this year, but hasn’t had a recent flareup to my knowledge, and returned from his earlier absence, so should be capable of playing. Collins is definitely capable. Markkanen’s back concern is maybe a little bit more real, but I don’t think it’s impacted him for a long while. Sexton’s ankle injury was a sprain. It’s better now.
And of course, Walker Kessler prefers playing basketball to resting.
Tanking is the right thing to do for the Utah Jazz. But it’s a pretty significant waste of these players' skills, to be wasting their primes on the bench while their team loses games on purpose.
Maybe we should allow player loans, like in soccer. Then the Jazz could send Markkanen to the Nuggets for a while in exchange for a second round pick or something. Why not? It’s better than this.
2. Is Kyle Filipowski a four or a five?
Filipowski had a productive game tonight, with 23 points (on 10-17 shooting) and 13 rebounds.
Here’s a question for you: is he best playing as a four or a five? As a power forward or a center?
It’s a debate I was having with my fellow Jazz beat writers the other day. One saw him as more of a four than a five in his NBA future. The rationale? Filipowski’s shooting allows him to be a floor-spacer, while his defense is probably stronger on the perimeter than on the interior at the moment. Putting him at the four allows him to fit that role.
I tend to lean towards him being a center long term, though, as he played tonight for the Jazz. The reason is that it allows the team he plays for to play with five-out spacing, thanks to Filipowski’s innate talent at reading defenses and finding teammates, making the right play offensively. Yes, he’s not a strong interior defender, but if you simply switch 1-5 defensively, then you can account for that while still taking advantage of his perimeter foot speed.
My analogy here is the same as it’s been since Filipowski was drafted: Kelly Olynyk. Olynyk is 6-11, 240 pounds, while Filipowski is 6-11, 250. Like Olynyk, Filipowski’s two promising assets are his passing and shooting. Neither would call either player a defensive stopper. But in the end, Olynyk’s played 74% of his NBA career as a five, because the five-out spacing just opens up so much for his teammates.
On the other hand — and yes, now I’m arguing against myself — Olynyk’s on-court numbers have been better for the last three seasons playing as a four rather than as a five, according to Cleaning The Glass. Maybe something about the league’s change over the last few years, perhaps crashing offensive rebounders, has made it harder to use Olynyk as a five.
Filipowski getting 13 rebounds, though, is promising for the idea he can play as a five. Filipowski’s rebounding percentage this year (14.9%) has been higher than any individual season of Olynyk’s career — so maybe he can hang down low more than Olynyk can? It’s an interesting discussion.
Will Hardy, when he was asked about this, simply highlighted the flexibility of Filipowski. Maybe he can just be both.
“The responsibility between a four and a three on offense sometimes isn’t very much. The responsibilities between four and five are very different, and so Flip has had to deal with a lot of change throughout the season ... He deserves a lot of credit, because that’s a hard thing. We have a lot of guys who are trying to learn their responsibilities at one position, and Flip’s doing it at two.”
3. Isaiah Collier, Rookie of the Month
Congratulations to Isaiah Collier for winning the NBA Western Conference February Rookie of the Month award.
It’s been an impressive in-season rise. For his first 2-3 months of NBA play, Collier was, legitimately, the worst player in the NBA, according to nearly every advanced metric. He was shooting 32% from the field, 14% from three, while turning it over once every seven minutes he was on the floor. The Jazz were getting walloped in those minutes.
In February, though? Much more respectable 45% shooting from the field, still-bad-but-twice-as-good 28% from three, and a huge drop in his turnover rate. Even better, the upside is now showing in terms of his passing, averaging 9.5 assists per game in the month.
That passing has singlehandedly made a lot of these February games watchable — it’s great to see a young player try to create for others, not just himself. Certainly, there’s still room to grow, but things have operated much more smoothly since Collier was inserted into the starting lineup. He displays a lot of offensive maturity, in that sense.
The scoring is still the big question. But if he figures that out, it’s clear he’ll be an NBA asset. Good for him for showing such significant development over the course of 82 games, doing the exact opposite of “hitting the rookie wall.”
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