In the dying embers of the Utah Jazz’s 119-117 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night, a scuffle broke out after Collin Sexton intentionally fouled DeMar DeRozan. Bulls forward Torrey Craig, who wasn’t on the active roster, jawed at Sexton, and Sexton is not exactly someone who backs down. Things got heated to the point where Jazz big man John Collins thought it was necessary for him to intervene. However, that only escalated the tension after Bulls assistant coach Chris Fleming appeared to shove Collins, an act which Collins took exception to.
Following the Jazz’s defeat to the Bulls, which happened in heartbreaking fashion, Collins revealed his side of the story on his altercation with Fleming. The Jazz big man said that he was merely defending himself after the Bulls assistant fired the first shot.
“Collin and T-Craig got into a little [scuffle], they’re talking. Ran over, I’m standing there and the coach comes over and just shoves me for no reason. Y’all can go watch the film,” Collins told reporters, via Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. “I just protected myself. Literally just standing there and dude just puts a forearm on my chest and pushing me back. He needs more self-control.”
When combing through the film, it certainly looked like Bulls assistant Chris Fleming made first contact against John Collins. The Jazz big man was clearly looking at the eye line of Torrey Craig before he felt the arm on his chest. Collins, however, in retaliation, also shoved Fleming, so it’s not like he’s blameless. Moreover, his hands were maybe a bit too high, which could have been dangerous.
Nevertheless, this is something that Collins and the Jazz will have to brush off after suffering the defeat against the Bulls despite having a golden opportunity to win the game. The Jazz missed two open three-point looks that could have given them the lead (they cut the Bulls’ lead to just two thanks to a technical free throw courtesy of Fleming’s involvement in the fracas).
For John Collins, the next few games will be huge opportunities for him to prove that he’s a keeper for the Jazz given how depleted their frontcourt is at the moment.
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