Utah Jazz: 3 takeaways from a battle with the champions

Joe Ingles has regained his lost swagger

During Utah’s five-game winning streak, Joe Ingles had played pretty well after bombing out in weeks prior. Despite that, Utah Jazz fans were still waiting for a signature game from the fan favorite from Australia.

Ingles had that signature performance against Toronto last night. It’s a shame that it came in a loss, but Ingles looked fantastic. He had 20 points, five rebounds and six assists while shooting 8-12 from the floor and 4-8 from deep.

He was talking trash, letting it fly from deep without hesitation, getting to the basket and making plays for his teammates. I’ve said it before — when Ingles is on his game, he’s extremely deadly and makes this Jazz team a lot tougher. When he’s off his game, he’s way off and the Jazz tend to struggle.

I think having him as a reserve gives him more freedom and it’s helped him. His confidence is high right now and you love to see it. Royce O’Neale, who replaced him in the starting lineup, also looks like a much better fit in his new role. It’s worked out for both players.

Let’s just hope that Ingles can keep up this strong play and have more games like this. He gave the Jazz a ton of energy off the bench and really catapulted Utah’s fourth quarter run against Toronto. This is the Joe Ingles we’ve been waiting for.