SoberasHotRod
Well-Known Member
So here is a somewhat related question to the thread title, but who do you think will average the highest amount of assists/game on the team next year?
Who will be the starting point guard on opening night?
- Thread starter Jingled
- Start date
fishonjazz
Well-Known Member
Contributor
2018 Award Winner
2019 Award Winner
2020-21 Award Winner
2022 Award Winner
2023 Award Winner
2024 Award Winner
Tough one because we have no idea who will play. If minutes were being equal then i would say Dunn
SoberasHotRod
Well-Known Member
I guess that's part of the prediction, who will get the minutes.
SoberasHotRod
Well-Known Member
My safe prediction would be Clarkson. I think he will be guaranteed a lot of minutes per game and if he plays a significant amount of time next to Sexton or Agbaji then he will get some assists.
My bold prediction would be George. This is a complete overreaction to Summer League, but I think he just might be too good to not play. If he plays then I think he'll be part of lineups where he will be required to facilitate.
fishonjazz
Well-Known Member
Contributor
2018 Award Winner
2019 Award Winner
2020-21 Award Winner
2022 Award Winner
2023 Award Winner
2024 Award Winner
Ya I think gun to my head have to pick someone to lead the team in assists Im going with sexton. But man that is tough one. Really good question. I could see sexton, clarkson, tht, dunn, and even KO all average between 3-6 assists per game. I dont think George is going to get there to be honest. Unless trades are made of course.
Tony Jones had an article in the athletic today about the "who will start at point guard?" question. Not much new info for the dedicated fan, he was going over the pros and cons for each player and it was mostly the same things that have been discussed in this thread. The main thing I thought was interesting was that he said again that the Jazz see Sexton as a 6th man. He's said that often enough that it seems like there must be a pretty good source for it.
SoberasHotRod
Well-Known Member
I hadn't thought of KO, but yeah, I could see him being one of our top assist/game guys.
I definitely wouldn't bet on George, but I do think there is an outside chance. He really doesn't have crazy competition for the point guard spot and based on Summer League he might just be our most talented player there. It probably isn't given to him day 1, but I could definitely see him being the obvious answer at some point.
Kessler ended up almost leading the team in rebounds/game last year. I don't think anyone would have predicted that before training camp. Eventually it was just obvious that he was our best option at center. The same could happen for George.
@Tony Jones was on with Locke today. He said he talked to Sexton over the weekend for a story coming out soon in The Athletic...throughout the conversation Sexton kept saying "Tony, I'm a starter" over and over again.
Locke's starting lineup would be Clarkson/Ochai/Lauri/Collins/Kessler and Tony's would be Dunn/Clarkson/Lauri/Collins/Kessler. Tony thinks there's a chance Dunn is the starting point guard on opening night and also a chance he's the 15th man on the roster on opening night.
Locke's starting lineup would be Clarkson/Ochai/Lauri/Collins/Kessler and Tony's would be Dunn/Clarkson/Lauri/Collins/Kessler. Tony thinks there's a chance Dunn is the starting point guard on opening night and also a chance he's the 15th man on the roster on opening night.
Yeah, Sexton is going to have that mindset and it might hold his career back. Not a lot of teams are going to want a player like him as a starter compared to how effective he could potentially be as a 6th man. It's why I worry about starting him because he's going to be crushed when Keyonte takes his job the next season.
Yeah, giving him the starting job this season and then taking it away from him in a year or two doesn't seem like a great idea. Not sure he could handle it.
rjfan
Well-Known Member
It is a tough place to be. He seemed to be headed in the right direction prior to his knee injury, then things that goes beyond his control puts him in the position that he is right now, so it's only fair to me that he looks to get back on track to where he was going before - also I argue that athletes wanting to play, and to deliver big, show the competitiveness that made them good at what they do in the first place, and not seeing it that actually should be concerning.
How he handles that from now on, including extra setbacks, not just of injuries, but other guys surpassing him after he takes a starting spot (if he's able to do it, of course, a big if), or a trade for a guy that would send him back to the bench, that's on him. But so far, I'd say he's shown at least interest in listen and working on things that he's told he needs to do. He may very well fall short of competition and requirements not just for the Jazz, but for a NBA starting spot as a whole (could he start for a team like the Bucks looking to move Jrue to SG ? I guess he could fit well there. But how many more places would be a good spot for him ? Maybe the Magic i guess, but not many other franchises), but seems normal that he wanna dispute it.
Douchebag K
Well-Known Member
Starting PG has to be Dunn. Someone has to pass the damn ball
SoberasHotRod
Well-Known Member
It seems pretty certain that Clarkson will start. My only hesitation is that I was very confident that Clarkson would come off the bench last year and resume his 6th man role. Maybe Hardy surprises us all again.
SoberasHotRod
Well-Known Member
I'm guessing every NBA player wants to start, so it's not a huge deal for him to want that. Saying that multiple times to a reporter might be a red flag, but Sexton has had an amazing attitude his whole career.
He seems like such a good person, and he appears to be putting in incredible effort here. I hope he gets a fair shot here even though I recognize his limitations.
Yeah, of course, that's fair. Every player probably has Sexton's mindset, but Sexton is in the unique position of obviously being good enough to be a starter somewhere (and having the capability of putting up huge stats) but probably not good enough to be a starter on a team with high aspirations. He's like the Jordan Clarkson of PG's (who ironically enough we will probably end up starting).
Unless he's on a team with a top 5 player, I dont really see Sexton being good enough to get out of the first round as a starter.
It really sucks for Sexton that he got drafted to Cleveland who were just awful awful and he focused so much on his scoring to the point where he got headlines for being selfish and unliked because it's going to follow him for the rest of his career. 95% of players who put up Sexton's stats get a much bigger payday than he got. If he starts this seasosn, he's going to get his job taken by another rookie contract player and the team is going to flourish with his demotion again. Just tragic.
SoberasHotRod
Well-Known Member
I don't disagree with this from a logic standpoint. From an emotional standpoint I'm hoping Sexton proves us all wrong and makes a leap as a player that allows him to achieve his goals. He has such great effort and attitude it would feel pretty good to have that rewarded.
rjfan
Well-Known Member
We don't know what the piece is about (as it is to be expected that Tony only release its full content when posting, even more as he writes for a site behind a paywall), but considering the context where it is cited (i don't listen to Locked podcast), it seems the case it would be either around him and/or the Jazz situation especifically for his position, a conversation that Tony sought after (not to importunate Sexton, for his job), not Sexton that was on Tony's phone like "you better tell them i'm a starter", which I believe is much more normal.
Funny and sad (maybe just sad) thing is, at the same time I do think he was wrongly portrayed and circumstances beyond his skills, his acts and even limitations were overlooked and blamed on him, and he deserves better. But also, he doesn't stand out to me as a foundational piece (even if I could see him as a good starter, and see him as a hard worker, willingful to both hear to positive criticism and putting on the work to expand and elevate his game), which is really troublesome not just for him, but for any pg guard that isn't freakish tall and/or athletic, and/or potential two-way player, and/or completely unguardable, which is why he might just end up just becoming a 6th man (but actually a top premier one).
Clarkson would set the record for dribbles in a game with this starting lineup.