Depth, Dunks & More: Four Notes from the Jazz’s Weekend in Paradise

October 9th, 2023 | by Steve Godfrey

George got extended run as the Jazz preseason got underway. (Marco Garcia via sltrib.com)

With the beginning of basketball bouncing along the beaches of Hawaii, the Utah Jazz are up and running. While you may not be all-in on your basketball fandom mode quite yet, here are a quick four notes from the first weekend of the preseason to help you stay afloat. 

First Impression: Depth

The 2023-24 NBA season officially began for the Utah Jazz as they tipped off in Hawaii for an exhibition game against the Los Angeles Clippers. The Jazz rallied late to get the win, 101-96. Fourteen players played, including all of the regular roster players except for one. To me, this showcased the depth the Jazz will have this season. 

We know the offense will feature Lauri Markannen and Jordan Clarkson the most, while the defense will be anchored around Walker Kessler. John Collins and Collin Sexton will get plenty of minutes, as will Ochai Agbaji, regardless of starters or off the bench. After those first six, the team has veterans Kelly Olynk and Kris Dunn in waiting, along with young vet Talen Horton-Tucker. That puts the team at nine rotational players, before we even consider the rookies. Keyonte George saw rotation minutes on Sunday, and has said he has his sights on Rookie of the Year.

Those 10 appear to be the most eager to take the floor, and ultimately that’s a nice problem to have. When you add in the other four who played Sunday night in Honolulu, it’ll be interesting to see how the depth chart eventually lines up, if and what cuts happen, and if any of the upcoming trade chatter comes to fruition. Of the four not mentioned, here are their first stat lines: 

  • Omer Yurtseven got 16 minutes. In his extended run, he had four points and six rebounds as the backup center. The team was +10 with him on the floor. 
  • Simone Fontecchio played 12 minutes, logging six points on 2-for-5 shooting from deep with an assist and a rebound for good measure. He was +5. 
  • Rookie Taylor Hendricks was on display for a 12-minute run. He went 1-of-3 from beyond the arc for his only points (drafted to be a stretch big who can play a lot of defense) while grabbing four rebounds. He was +2. 
  • Last was Luka Samanic, the third-year forward, who only played five minutes but showed off an impressive offensive game to get nine points, including 2-for-2 from deep. The team was -3 with him on the court in those minutes.

Of the regular roster players, only rookie Brice Sensabaugh didn’t play.

The point of the preseason is to give everyone a run and figure out lineup configurations. The addition of Collins might’ve created questions about the frontcourt plans. The quick summer league success from George, and even the international success from Fontecchio, might’ve muddled up minute decisions, too. To make the job just a touch more difficult for Jazz coach Will Hardy and staff, the Jazz have a little more quality depth than might’ve been anticipated.

The Highlight of the Weekend

Trade acquisition John Collins’ first bucket as a Jazzman was a three from the top of the key. His next didn’t come until the second half on a slick and sick alley-oop with the last name-first name duo as Sexton hit him with the lob in transition. 

The Highlight Behind Scenes

If that dunk didn’t do it for you, how about a little friendly fire? While practicing at BYU-Hawaii, Agbaji caught the bodies of rookie of the year runner-up and defensive ace Kessler, along with the help from Collins, as he slammed home two and shared his charismatic smile soon afterward. 

LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Jordan Clarkson? 

My favorite quote to eek from the weekend comes from Alex Caruso. You know, the guy who plays hard-nosed defense for the Chicago Bulls. Speaking with NBC Sports Chicago, with beat reporter K.C. Johnson, Caruso was asked who his toughest covers. In response, Utah’s flamethrower was mentioned among the greats. 

I get that question all the time from people I meet or guys I work out with randomly who I see for the first time. There are literally 20 names I could give you. This is how I describe it: If I follow the game plan and play really good defense, the best guys in the league—the 1-2 punches like DeMar (DeRozan) and Zach (LaVIne) for us—are still going to get their average. There’s just that much volume, transition, switches, so many opportunities. If I don’t do my job, they’ll go for 40 or 50. So you take your pick any night for toughest cover. Anybody who’s an All-Star and there are even some guys who come off the bench and average 20 a night. Jordan Clarkson is a good example. Jordan Clarkson is one of the harder guys to guard in the league because he can shoot from outside, he can shoot from midrange, he can get fouled. Makes good reads off counters. There are just so many guys in the league these days who are so skilled. There’s not one answer. There are the obvious ones, Steph (Curry), KD (Kevin Durant), LeBron (James), Devin Booker, Donovan Mitchell. Those two last year, I thought Book and Donovan Mitchell were really motivated because of the situations the teams had. It’s a really long list.

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