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When an NBA coach wants to get the most out of his team, one of the best ways to do so is to lean into the strengths of the roster, rather than implementing a rigid scheme to the roster no matter the personnel.
A couple of the things the Jazz have that gives them an advantage is size, and with that size, they also have a number of players that are very good passers. Lauri Markkanen, Jusuf Nurkic, Kevin Love and Kyle Filipowski are all good passers who are very big on the court. Walker Kessler has put in a lot of time, especially this offseason, to improve the way he sees the game in order to become a better passer.
“Bigs that can pass are a luxury because it gives you so many different ways to play,” Utah Jazz coach Will Hardy said.
The obvious advantage here is being able to use these big men in order to facilitate any action during a game. Because they can see over the defense, it gives them different angles that are not afforded to their backcourt counterparts.
But, there’s a wrinkle the Jazz are adding that is even more unique and fun — passing between bigs.
“Coach trusts Nurk and me in that five position to flash the ball and make those plays,” Kessler said. “But even more than that, it makes it a lot easier when you’re throwing to guys like Lauri, Flip, T-Henny, that have kind of a smaller guy on them — especially Lauri.”
Because the Jazz are able to start three players that are 6-foot-11 or taller (Markkanen, Kessler, Filipowski), it gives them the opportunity to not only see over the top of the defense with the ball in the hands of a big, but fully play out actions over the top. That’s how you end up with Kessler throwing passes to a back-cutting Markkanen, or Filipowski throwing lobs to Kessler and Markkanen.
In turn, the gravity that kind of length has on the defense, opens up the rest of the floor for the shooters — and the Jazz are trying to use a fully five-out lineup, making things even more difficult for the defense.
There are certainly going to be nights that are better than others, and the Jazz have a ton of work to do across the roster on both sides of the ball, but being able to use the front court in this way, is a luxury the Jazz are hoping to perfect.
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- Young Jazz stun veteran Clippers on opening night (Deseret News)
- Health update as Utah Jazz open the 2025-26 season (Deseret News)
- Season of truth: Which young Jazz players will survive the rebuild? (Deseret News)
- Walker Kessler says it’s ‘vastly important’ for him to become a floor spacer (Deseret News)
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