Inside The Jazz

Jazz PG Position: What We Learned in Preseason Opener

The Utah Jazz have some exciting developments in the point guard competition.

Alex White

Jazz PG Position: What We Learned in Preseason Opener
Jazz PG Position: What We Learned in Preseason Opener /
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For the first time since April 9, we finally had Utah Jazz basketball back in our lives. In a game where the second unit was the story, the Jazz knocked off the Los Angeles Clippers, 101-96. 

While it's unfair to make any definitive statements after just one preseason game, we also have a decent sample size from last season on most of these players. Without further ado, let’s talk about the Jazz backcourt and some of the things that stood out to me while watching the preseason opener, especially at point guard.

Starting Guard Duo Struggles

Rome wasn’t built in a day. Likewise, the Jazz new frontcourt of Lauri Markkanen, John Collins, and Walker Kessler will take some time to gel. The more concerning piece of the puzzle is how little ball movement there was with the opening group. 

With Collin Sexton and Talen Horton-Tucker on the court, both of whom cracked Will Hardy’s starting five, the ball was awfully sticky. Horton-Tucker particularly had no issue firing from all over the court, starting the game 3-for-3 from the floor and 2-for--2 from deep, scoring eight quick points. He hit just two of his final 10 shots from the floor, and only 1-for-5 from deep; his lone three-point make was a bank that should’ve missed wildly.

Sexton struggled to find his footing, turning the ball over four times, and only shooting 1-for-6 from the floor. A good sign for was his five assists which were more than the rest of the starters combined. 

While I’m still bullish on Collin, the pairing with THT wasn’t pretty. Hopefully, pairing him with a ball mover can loosen the offense up and give Sexton more space to attack.

Backups Shine

Though he didn’t crack the first-half rotation, Kris Dunn came into the second half and picked up where he left off last year. In 16 minutes, he gave the Jazz 15 points, five assists, two rebounds, two blocks, a steal, and he didn’t miss a shot. 

More importantly, Dunn gave the offense structure, and by pairing him with Keyonte George, the Jazz's two best passers got the team consistently good looks. Dunn finished the game +10 while George was a game-high +15.

The caveat is that Dunn dominated the second half against L.A.’s deep bench, which was a stark contrast to the Kawhi Leonard and Paul George lineups the team faced in the first half.

Ochai Agbaji looked really good in his preseason debut. He made a couple of decisive drives and finishes — things we only saw glimpses of last year. He struggled to shoot the ball, but with his track record, that is the least of my concerns. 

Defensively, Agbaji continued to show his athleticism, physicality, and length though he still needs to cut down on the fouling. With an overcrowded backcourt, the Jazz primarily used Ochai as a wing, a trend that will most likely continue.

George once again gave Jazz faithful reasons to be excited. You could see the nerves, especially early, but the talent was also obvious. The ability to get where he wanted offensively, the poise to not get sped up when running the offense, and his knack for drawing contact all stood out. 

I expect the rookie to acclimate to NBA speed extremely quickly, and that will result in his shots falling at a higher clip. Defensively, George still has a long way to go, but physically, he passed the eye test.

He also had one of the most exciting missed dunks I can remember.

Going Forward

If the Jazz want to win as many games as possible, Dunn needs to play and probably play a lot. If it were up to me (it’s not), I would probably start George and either Agbaji, Clarkson, Dunn, or Sexton alongside him. This gives the Jazz a nice mix of scoring, passing, and spacing to allow their impressive frontcourt to blossom.

To get to Hardy’s desired nine-man rotation, someone has to be the odd man out; Horton-Tucker is the guy that I don’t think fits. The Jazz need ball movers and spacers, not inefficient chuckers who stop possessions. We saw it with 'THT' last year, and I don’t see his place in the Jazz egalitarian offense.

The preseason is just getting started, and things can and will change, but for a backcourt with lots of questions, we’ll keep searching for answers.

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Alex White
ALEX WHITE

Alex White is in his first year covering the Utah Jazz and NBA. His analytical expertise is in the field of the NBA draft and all things Jazz. 

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