Jazz head coach Will Hardy anticipates a “vicious” competition for the starting point guard job in training camp, likening the upcoming battle to “the Hunger Games,” writes Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. As Larsen notes, Collin Sexton, Talen Horton-Tucker, Jordan Clarkson, Kris Dunn, and rookie Keyonte George are all expected to be in the mix.
“Those five guys are gonna go at it at training camp, and I love that. But we’ve got to make sure that it’s within a team construct,” Hardy said. “Individual motives are good and powerful, and we need to lean into those. But we also have to remember that we have 82 games coming, where we’re all wearing the same jersey.”
Many of the Jazz’s backcourt players aren’t traditional point guards, which Hardy says he’ll keep in mind when considering potential lineup combinations and backcourt duos.
“We have a lot of really good guards, and I don’t want to say, ‘You’re the point guard and you’re the (shooting guard).’ I don’t think that fits our group best,” the second-year head coach said. “It’s more about viewing them as pairs. I’m not relying on one person to bring it up each time and sort of initiate what we’re doing. That flexibility is going to be an adjustment for us.”
Here’s more on the Jazz:
- Newcomer John Collins said on Monday that he has found the Jazz’s “lack of ego” and emphasis on playing team basketball “refreshing,” adding that he’s looking forward to getting a fresh start in Utah this season, Larsen writes for The Salt Lake Tribune. “In some ways, I feel like a rookie again,” Collins said. “To meet new staff, new teammates, this new environment … to get myself together in a new city.”
- Utah added several new pieces to its roster this offseason, including Collins and a trio of first-round picks. It’ll be up to the coaching staff to determine how all those pieces fit together, as Tony Jones of The Athletic details. “I’m really excited to see how training camp plays out, because we’re going to have a lot of internal competition,” general manager Justin Zanik said. “I will say it won’t be all figured out by the beginning of camp. This group has a collective resolve to compete with each other but to also pull for each other and help each other improve and develop. And that will be a season-long thing. There has to be a culture of flexibility among the group, because we have a lot of depth and not everyone can play every night.”
- In a separate article for The Athletic, Jones takes a closer look at Lauri Markkanen‘s experience completing his mandatory military service for his home country of Finland this offseason. Markkanen believes his time in the military made him more resilient, helped him deal with new situations, and could make him a better leader.
- Jazz assistant Scott Morrison would be the next man up if Hardy is ejected from a game this season, according to Larsen, who adds (via Twitter) that Jeff Hornacek has remained in his role as a coaching consultant for the club.
The thing with the point guard battle is that none of them are actual point guards. George is young and untried, and he’s more of a scorer. Sexton is a scorer who can kick out but isn’t much of a playmaker. Clarkson is a scorer who can kind of run plays. Dunn is a defensive guard/wing who can handle the point. THT is a scorer who can’t score consistently, a passer who can’t pass consistently, and a defender who can’t defend consistently. He needs to pick a role.
If I had to pick, it’d be Dunn, with Clarkson at the 2. I want to see him keep up the small-sample success from last year, and he won’t do that without minutes. Give George time to develop behind the primary two guys. I like his potential. Give him 20+ minutes a game to adjust to the NBA pace and he’ll flourish.
I enjoyed your THT analysis !
While it seems obvious that a trade for a point guard would be in order, it’s also obvious that playing a season without one is a great way to get a great draft choice without obviously tanking. Everybody can play hard and give 100&, and still come up short.
Clarkson is an interesting asset. He is a bit overpayed, especially length wise, but it is still a tradeable contract and he can put the ball in the basket.
UTH’s moves this off season were on all fours with another season of tanking; with one exception. The acquisition of Collins. Either Ainge really likes him as a player, or his acquisition was designed to be exhibit a in UTH’s defense against tanking. The day is coming when the latter may be something all tankers need to consider. FWIW, I do think its mostly that Ainge likes him. You can do a win-now deal without taking on a contract like that.
Coach Hardy seems to like to have options rather than be tied down to one lineup. I’m sure we’ll see a lot of different ones, like last year.
The Jazz front office are clearly waiting to see how well these rookies, and Collins, play and learn before they make anymore trades. Best to be patient. They could wait until next Summer to make moves.
The smart thing to do would be to not try to fit guys into a mold, but to have whoever is in the rotation play as a team. What a novel concept.
That’s why Coach Hardy could some day be the Olympic coach. He recognizes players’ strengths and knows how to create balanced lineups with what he has.