How under-the-radar Jazz have returned to relevance
On Dec. 11, the Utah Jazz fell to 7-16 after losing 134-120 to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Rookie Keyonte George provided some intrigue by scoring a career-high 30 points, but the outlook for 2023-24 looked undeniably bleak for Utah.
Now, a month later, Utah is only a game out of eighth in the West and recently stomped on powerhouses Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Denver in consecutive games.
After its win against Denver on Wednesday, Utah is 19-20 and 12-4 over its past 16 games. During that stretch, head coach Will Hardy's team isn't shooting particularly well (13th in FG% and 22nd in 3PT%), but it is thriving in other areas.
Utah is fifth in the NBA in assists, fifth in steals, fifth in blocks, second in total rebounding and second in loose balls recovered since Dec. 11. The ball is flying around on offense, the team is crashing the boards and no one is too cool to dive for a loose ball.
The Jazz are also second in contested shots, a stat that starts in the paint with Walker Kessler, the second-year big man who's fourth in the NBA in blocks. Having a rim protector covers up so many deficiencies. Over the past month, Kessler's steadfast intimidation down low has helped Utah post the league's No. 11-ranked defense.
Over the past year and a half, Hardy, 35, deserves massive props for the job he's doing getting his team to fully buy into his system despite losing the talent battle more often than not. Utah has good players and Lauri Markkanen is playing like an All-Star once again, but the Jazz are winning as a unit, not because of massive individual efforts. They're the anti-Clippers.
Collin Sexton's resurgence has helped Utah stay hot, too. It feels odd to write that a 25-year-old is "reviving" his career, but major knee injuries can derail careers in an instant.
Sexton suffered a torn meniscus in 2021 that sidelined him for nearly a year. In his first full season back, though, he looks almost like his old self — a player who averaged 24.3 points at just 22 years old in 2020-21. As a starter for the Jazz this season (16 games), he has averaged 21.3 points and 4.8 assists.
Utah won't be competing with Denver or Minnesota in the postseason, but with a smart, young coach in Hardy and a franchise centerpiece in Markkanen, its future outlook is considerably brighter than many realize.
Approximately 29 NBA fan bases want to acquire a Jazz player at this season's trade deadline — Markkanen, Sexton and Jordan Clarkson are hot names in trade circles — but there's really no reason for Utah to make splashy moves. It has plenty of draft capital and team-friendly contracts, so there's no shame in trying to actually win games, especially in a season in which few gave the Jazz much of a chance to compete.
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