Why This Jazz Loss to Pacers Felt Different
The Utah Jazz fell to the Indiana Pacers, 134-118, on the road on Wednesday night. It was a game where the final score didn’t tell the whole story, as it was back-and-forth until the Pacers found a different gear in the fourth quarter.
With the loss, the Jazz dropped to 2-7 on the season and are beginning to lose touch with the rest of the Western Conference pack. Despite the loss, things felt different for the Jazz, in a good way.
The obvious difference was that Will Hardy finally decided to shake things up with his starting lineup. This move came for a group that badly needed a fresh look.
Part of this change was obviously due to starting center Walker Kessler missing the game due to an elbow injury that has been impacting him since opening night. More notable was rookie Keyonte George making his first career start on his 20th birthday — a move that shifted Talen Horton-Tucker to the bench.
With the new opportunity, George delivered nine assists and just one turnover. It was an impressive debut for the rookie, who has given us no reason to expect anything less.
The area that George will need to develop is striking a balance between running the offense and creating for himself. He’s such a talented shot-creator that the Jazz are going to need him to be more assertive at times. Overall, it was a great first start from the rookie.
Alongside George, the Jazz started Jordan Clarkson, Ochai Agbaji, Lauri Markkanen, and John Collins — five guys who can all stretch the floor offensively. With this added space, both Collins and Clarkson were able to take advantage.
Clarkson led the Jazz in scoring with 33 points, a season-best, though this came with six turnovers. Collins had an efficient 14 points and nine rebounds — most of his production came in the first half before he got into foul trouble. Markkanen was excellent, as always, with 24 points on just 16 shots.
As a whole, the Jazz offense looked really good in Indy. It also felt like the team was competing at a different level than we’d seen recently.
Unfortunately, the Pacers are a really good offensive team. They lead the league with an offensive rating of 121.2.
The Jazz also struggle mightily on defense, as they once again did on Wednesday night. The Jazz are 27th in defensive rating this year, which is a number that won’t win you many games.
What it Means
Overall, things felt like they fit better in Game 9. The Jazz still have plenty to figure out, especially on the defensive end of the court, but if they continue to compete at a high level and execute offensively, they should, at the very least, be fun to watch.
It’s always an added bonus to watch the young players play big minutes. At the end of the day, the Jazz were never going to win a championship this year, so finding and developing pieces that can help the team do so down the road has to be priority No. 1 for this team.
Follow Inside The Jazz on Facebook and X.
Subscribe on YouTube for breaking Jazz news videos and live-stream!
