Utah Jazz: 2 studs and 1 dud from win vs Houston

Utah Jazz stud: Joe Ingles

Joe Ingles is a difficult player to value, in so far as his basic counting stats have never fairly reflected his value. For those who care to dive into advanced metrics, the early portion of the season is a game of wait-and-see: the numbers are skewed until the sample size is sufficient. For example, Ingles has an Offensive Rating of 157 through his first four games. That doesn’t feel entirely sustainable.

Regardless, Utah Jazz fans know what Ingles brings to their club. It was just nice to see it reflected in last night’s Box Score. Ingles went for 14 points on 5/11 shooting from the field, including an efficient 4/9 from three-point range in 26 minutes. Those numbers are roughly in line with his production through the 2021-22 season so far, aside from a goose egg resulting from an ejection 5 minutes into the game against Sacramento.

As it stands, the Utah Jazz are off to a 4-0 start for the first time since 2008, in spite of a ghastly shooting slump from star player Donovan Mitchell. Inevitably, Spida will regain his shooting touch, but in the interim, players like Ingles provide a much-needed steadying hand.

Last night, Ingles went about his usual business, probing pick-and-rolls, shooting within the flow of the offense, never appearing rushed. The gravity of his three-point threat alone had an inexperienced but hard-working Rockets defense consistently scrambling, and it paid dividends for the Jazz’s offense.

Since his arrival in Salt Lake City, Joe Ingles has been one of the most dependable players on the Utah Jazz. Last night’s performance was no exception.