There were some clunky moments, a lot of turnovers and some obvious confusion, but it was all to be expected.
That being said, the first game with the Utah Jazz’s newly acquired players gave a fascinating and hopeful glimpse at what is possible in the future.
As the Utah Jazz readied for their Saturday night bout against the Orlando Magic, it was the first time in a long time that the injury report was nearly clear, as Walker Kessler (out for the season) was the only player listed, giving the Jazz a pretty full complement of players to work with.
Jaren Jackson Jr.
Utah coach Will Hardy rolled out a supersized starting lineup of Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr., Jusuf Nurkić, Ace Bailey and Keyonte George.
The early returns were pretty remarkable.
Jackson scored the first four points of the game and went on to finish with 22 points, four rebounds and three assists in his debut for the Jazz after being traded from the Memphis Grizzlies earlier this week.
But what stood out more than Jackson’s production was the trouble the Magic defense had facing a team with three nearly seven-footers.
When asked about the possibilities and how excited he is to experiment, Hardy couldn’t keep the smile off his face.
In addition to having a center, whether it be Nurkić or Kessler in the future, the Jazz are going to have two active and versatile players outside the paint in Jackson and Markkanen who are as big or bigger than the other team’s center, and that’s going to be hard for teams to contend with.
“I think having two guys that are that size who can both shoot on the perimeter and put pressure on the rim... teams are going to have some hard choices to make in terms of what the matchups are,” Hardy said.
“I would expect that as we move forward there will be nights where Jaren is the beneficiary of some of that and there will be nights that it’s Lauri.”
Keyonte George
Fresh off a left ankle sprain and playing on a minutes restriction, George was doing a great job of playing facilitator at the start of the game Saturday, but unfortunately he tweaked his ankle after just 13 minutes on the court.
After a trip to the locker room, George ran back out onto the court to try to check back into the game, but the Jazz weren’t having it.
Hardy said he understands that George is competitive and wanted to go back in, which is a good sign, but that it was best to protect him a little from himself.
George will likely be day-to-day, but there isn’t any reason for the Jazz to push anyone with an injury.
If anything, they would rather milk the injury to keep the tank rolling.
John Konchar and Vince Williams Jr.
The other two players who are new to the Jazz roster after the trade with the Grizzlies also got some playing time on Saturday.
John Konchar and Vince Williams Jr. played 18 and nine minutes, respectively, and both came to the court clearly on a mission to show that they are defense-first players.
On a team that ranks dead last in defense in the NBA, that kind of effort and care on that side of the ball is warmly welcomed.
Konchar and Williams both got into passing lanes, had deflections left and right and were more than willing to do some of the dirty work around the court.
Konchar even grabbed seven rebounds.
“John is a good team defender,” Hardy said. “I think he’s a quick thinker and so he’s in the right spot a lot, and then he’s got a chip on his shoulder.
“He’s physical, he’s scrappy. This is something that he’s done for his whole career. It’s great to see it in our uniform.”
The Jazz will play the final game of this five-game road trip in Miami on Monday night before returning home for a back-to-back set before the All-Star break.