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On Dec. 6, against the Portland Trail Blazers, Lauri Markkanen was a late scratch because of back spasms, and Utah Jazz coach Will Hardy decided to start Svi Mykhailiuk in Markkanen’s place. Prior to that game, Mykhailiuk had only played in four Jazz games this season, racking up a bunch of DNPs along the way at the end of the bench.

So, many fans were wondering how that decision was made and why it wasn’t used as a chance to give more time and opportunity to younger players like Brice Sensabaugh or even Johnny Juzang. What goes into lineup substitution decisions for Hardy?

“Right now it’s important for us to not change too many things at one time,” Hardy said. “I think there’s this notion sometimes that, ‘Hey, somebody’s out, we should move the next person up and then move somebody up into that spot.’ Well, now you have multiple people that are doing different roles.”

In order to keep some consistency in how the younger players are developing and to be able to evaluate them with a consistent eye as well, Hardy prefers to make their roles crystal clear with not a lot of change.

“By moving Svi into that starting spot, guys like Johnny and Brice, their roles remain the same, so what they can expect is much more similar than if they were starting,” Hardy said. “Then for us, coaching them, helping them develop, evaluating them, they’re in a similar environment. I also think at different times in practice, we’ve had Svi with that (starting) group ... You know, Johnny and Brice, they know they’re going to play a bunch, they know what to expect from a minute standpoint, and I just felt like it was an opportunity to keep them in their roles and keep those things consistent.”

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There are times when those lineup changes are made with a more long-term view in mind. For example, rookie Kyle Filipowski had been moved into the starting unit at the start of the season, but then missed seven games because of an injury and John Collins moved back into the starting five.

Now that Filipowski has been cleared from his ankle sprain and leg injury, the likelihood is that he will eventually move back into the starting lineup. But, the coaching staff would probably like to make that change when there aren’t so many other moving parts or people that are injured.

As Hardy said, the most important thing for the development of the young players is that not too many things change all at once.

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