The Utah Jazz got the win over the New Zealand Breakers but the gameplan left the team with more questions than answers.
The Utah Jazz are a team trying to put the right pieces into place as they head into the 2023-2024 season. They’re not settled on their starting five or their rotational pieces off the bench just yet, and that’s what they’re using the preseason for. To try and figure out what the team looks like and who will get minutes. And for the most part, the team has done a good job this preseason focusing on who they think will be a key contributor for the regular season.
Except for Monday, when the New Zealand Breakers came to town. The Jazz opted to play all but two of their players against the visiting NBL team, playing 19 of 21 possible players, with only Keshawn Justice and Michael Devoe not getting any minutes.
During the game, every main candidate for the guard positions played, even Johnny Juzang who is admittedly, little more than a long shot to earn the spot. And because everyone played, no one really got enough time to pull away in the competition.
Horton-Tucker didn’t make a shot and had more turnovers than assists, but he only played 13 minutes. Kris Dunn played just seven minutes but was the most active with three rebounds and three assists during that time. Keyonte George and Jordan Clarkson took the most shots among the candidates, but George didn’t play as well as Clarkson.
In fact, Juzang was the player who had the best shooting night of all the guards, going 3-4. Ochai Agbaji also had a good shooting night, hitting 50% from the field.
While the game didn’t make the situation at the guard positions more clear, we know that there is more going on in practices that we don’t see, so fans should be patient as the process plays out.