Jazz’s Will Hardy Explains Benching of Keyonte George vs. Timberwolves
In a tough back-to-back matchup vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Utah Jazz didn't have enough juice to rattle off their second-straight win as they came up short on Saturday night, 100-119.
While the youthful Utah starting lineup headlined by rookies Taylor Hendricks, Brice Sensabaugh, and Keyonte George had performances with some flashes, one of them wasn't seen on the court with the other two in the closeout minutes of the game.
That player was Keyonte George. Head coach Will Hardy made the bold move to bench the 16th overall pick for the last four minutes of the contest in favor of Kris Dunn. It effectively raised some eyebrows on why he wasn't out there playing as he'd be expected to.
After the loss vs. the Timberwolves, Hardy hit the podium, where he was asked about why he decided to pull George from the game in the final minutes, saying it was due to a lack of execution.
"It was a lack of execution coming out of a timeout," Hardy said. "I hold Keyonte to a high standard, and if he's going to be the future of this program, which is something that I think he's capable of being, he has to hold himself to that standard as well."
To finish the game, George posted 18 points, three rebounds, and two assists on 5/16 shooting from the field and 1/7 from three in 29 minutes. While it wasn't the cleanest game we've seen from him this season, it's part of the inevitable growing pains that occur across a lengthy first year in the league. Still, he currently ranks second in scoring amongst rookies since the All-Star break, only behind ROTY favorite Victor Wembanyama.
Even with the talent he's displayed across this season, Hardy has made it clear there will be no free minutes handed out on this team. George has shown all of the qualities to be the lead guard in Salt Lake City for the foreseeable future, but he needs to ensure he executes at the highest level to continue to get that opportunity.
George and the rest of the Jazz will get another take against the Timberwolves on Monday when they look to avoid a season sweep on Monday.
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