6 biggest questions for the Utah Jazz heading to training camp
By Chad Porto
Who is going to start at point guard?
We’re going to talk about the point guard situation until we know who is the starter, and if that player can in fact be reliable in that role. Right now the leading candidates are Collin Sexton and Kris Dunn, with Talen Horton-Tucker, Keyonte George, and possibly someone like Jordan Clarkson in the discussion.
Sexton seems like he’ll head into camp and the preseason as the team’s point guard, and while he can get a bucket at will, he’s not much of a facilitator. Dunn is, and he’s a much better defender than Sexton, but he can’t score at will like Sexton can.
Horton-Tucker is the least likely to win the role as he’s not as good of a scorer as Sexton and can’t do the things Dunn can do so naturally. George can absolutely take the starter’s job if what we saw in the Summer League was a taste of things to come. But if it wasn’t, then he may very easily be sent to the bench for a while while the others get more minutes.
As far as Clarkson goes, a lot of what he’ll end up getting opportunity-wise will come from the World Cup, where he’s a member of Team Philippines. He’ll be a ball-dominant guard, but if he’s not passing well during the international tournament, it’s hard to see how he could get the opportunity to lead the offense. He’ll have a major role, sure, but he just may not be the point guard the team needs.