Soon, maybe even before this road trip is over, the Utah Jazz will have three new players and look completely different, but on Thursday night, they still had to play with a depleted roster.
The Atlanta Hawks came away with a narrow victory — 121-119 final score — but the Jazz gave the Hawks a run for their money in a game with a number of storylines and a ton of thrill.
Ace Bailey and Isaiah Collier’s homecoming
On Wednesday night, the whole Jazz team headed to Wheeler High School just outside Atlanta, where Isaiah Collier’s jersey was being retired, so it’s not surprising that there was a large contingent at State Farm Arena ready to cheer on the local kid.
But Ace Bailey also went to high school nearby at McEachern High School, so when the two were announced in the starting lineup and when they delighted later on with a Bailey-to-Collier-to-Bailey alley-oop, the crowd went absolutely nuts.
“I’m not gonna lie, the crowd cheered louder when Ace was announced than when the Hawks were announced,” Jazz head coach Will Hardy said.
“I think for both those guys...any young player getting to play in front of people that they love and people that they grew up with, people that have been a part of their basketball journey, is exciting. I also think there’s a lot of pressure in that.”
Collier did not disappoint. According to the game broadcast, he became the first Jazzman since Adrian Dantley to play consecutive 48-minute games and finished with 25 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds.
Bailey also stood out, finishing with 20 points and six rebounds and a late 3-pointer that very nearly won the game until former Jazzman Nickeil Alexander-Walker nailed the game-winning shot with 1.3 seconds left.
Jock Landale
While the Jazz’s newest players (Jaren Jackson Jr., John Konchar and Vince Williams Jr.) from the team’s trade with the Memphis Grizzlies have not yet joined the team, there was a representative from the trade on the court on Thursday night.
Jock Landale was a Jazzman for mere hours. He was a part of the deal from Memphis that send Jackson to the Jazz, but shortly after that deal was completed the Jazz flipped Landale to the Hawks.
Not only did Landale make his Hawks debut on Thursday, he also started the game and then finished with a game-high 26 points to go with 11 rebounds and five assists.
A bizarre turn of events.
Well-earned loss
With Keyonte George sidelined with an ankle sprain, Kevin Love sick, Jusuf Nurkić a healthy scratch and the new players still not with the team, the Jazz were once again shorthanded, as they were on Tuesday against the Indiana Pacers.
Still, even with only eight players, the Jazz almost managed to beat the Hawks on Thursday night.
It took Brice Sensabaugh fouling out after playing 30 minutes (with 18 points) and the Jazz benching Lauri Markkanen for the fourth quarter for Utah to get the loss.
The Jazz are probably going to have to get really creative in the next few weeks to make sure they don’t win too many games before the season ends.
After all, they still need to keep a top-8 lottery pick.