3 studs and 1 dud from Utah Jazz win over Spurs

Utah Jazz stud: Joe Ingles

As we mentioned, the Jazz’s offense lacked a little explosion last night. In Mitchell’s absence, their attack became more methodical and deliberate. It might not be as effective a strategy as they’re accustomed to. After all, the 110 points the Jazz finished with last night is a lower figure than we’ve come to expect from the team.

Nonetheless, they got the victory with a necessary style adjustment. Joe Ingles was a massive part of that.

Ingles effectively attacked the Spurs in isolation on a couple of occasions. Otherwise, he thrived in the supporting role Utah Jazz fans have grown accustomed to. He shot threes when he was open, he mostly connected, and he made smart passes otherwise. Ingles finished the game with 17 points on 6/10 shooting from the field and 4/7 shooting from downtown. His 3 assists and 3 turnovers aren’t particularly impressive, but he was also responsible for several secondary assists.

Joe Ingles is a consummate role player. He doesn’t do a lot for this team’s ceiling, but he raises its floor considerably. No team would prefer to swap out a star like Donovan Mitchell for a player of that nature, but the Utah Jazz are lucky to have a starting caliber player in their reserves. The fact that Ingles is multi positional (let’s not forget that he subbed into the starting lineup for the injured Royce O’Neale earlier this season) is an added bonus.

The Jazz may need more than 110 points to beat elite teams in this league. At the same time, with one of the NBA’s best defenses, that’s a total that can get them victories on a semi-regular basis. If they didn’t have Joe Ingles, they might struggle to hit even that mark on a routine basis without Donovan Mitchell.