J
James Hansen
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Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images
It was good to see Lauri Markkanen ball out for the Utah Jazz, but it wasn’t enough to stop Luka Doncic
The Utah Jazz had most of their team play for the first time in some time, and they looked a lot better than they had the last time they faced the Dallas Mavericks. Lauri Markkanen looked like his old self, with a monster stat line of 34 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists on a split of 52/66/100. That said, it wasn’t enough to power the Jazz past Luka Doncic and the Mavericks, who won 115-105.
It was probably one of the best defensive efforts for the Jazz since the trade deadline, with multiple players doing a great job holding the Mavericks in check. Most of the game was a tight, back-and-forth contest until the Mavericks pulled away late. Taylor Hendricks, who struggled shooting the ball, did a great job defending Luka Doncic all night. His ability to guard multiple positions is shining and shows that he’ll be a valuable player for years for Utah. They just need that consistency with the shooting, but that will come with time.
Keyonte George is in a huge shooting slump right now. It was another night where his threes weren’t falling again, going 0/6. Outside of the tough shooting, he did have a solid game passing and rebounding, and he got the offense set up overall. He had 6 assists and 5 rebounds, 2 steals, providing help in other areas. He also had multiple defensive possessions, and he did a solid job at the point of attack. Eventually he’ll come out of this slump, it’s just a matter of when. The Jazz could really use his shooting right now, if he has one of his big nights, the Jazz likely win this one easily, but this is the thing with rookies. They’re going to have struggles like this, and it’s a part of the growing pains while you watch them develop.
The Jazz vets in this one were pretty solid. Collin Sexton had his clockwork efficient 20+ points with 6 assists on good percentages. John Collins was a best tonight with 21 points and 11 rebounds with a split of 56/40/33. And even though Clarkson literally couldn’t hit a shot 0/7, he does bring a stabilizing presence to the team that seems to keep the ship afloat when they need a play. THe best thing about Clarkson is that even when he’s struggling to shoot, he’s getting assists. Tonight he ended with a team-leading 8 assists.
A tough night overall for the Jazz, but they’re likely happy seeing their young guys develop while also solidifying their draft position. Fingers crossed to see what Utah is able to get out of this draft, but they can use all the young talent they can get as they continue this rebuild.
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