The Utah Jazz have a gem in Keyonte George but he’s got a long way to go.
There’s something about Keyonte George that will keep him in the starting lineup for the Utah Jazz going forward. He’s quick and decisive, and he seems to have an instinct to get the most out of the offense when he’s got the ball in his hands. He’s proven that he deserves to be the team’s starting point guard, assuming the Jazz don’t land an obviously better, fairly young player. (I.E. Luka Doncic).
And while George has been good since arriving in the starting lineup, the one thing we can’t say about him is that he’s consistent. He’s still taking too many bad shots and is still playing a bit too fast and loose with his shot selection. The back-to-back with the Phoenix Suns truly highlighted how inconsistent he is still.
He went from having arguably his best all-around game as a player to his worst all-around game. On Friday, the 17th, he went 5-11 (3-6 from three) from the floor, and totaled 15 points, while contributing six rebounds and three assists. The next game, that following Sunday, he shot just 2-12 (0-6 from three), with 11 assists, five rebounds, and five turnovers. Same team, same court, same everything, but George went from a +2 BPM to a -9, and went from an 11.2 game score to a 4.2.
By no means is this an indictment on Georeg as a long-term prospect, more of a reflection of what you can expect from him for most of this season. He’ll have his up-and-down days, and he’ll have some stretches of very good or very bad basketball, but he’ll likely be an inconsistent player for the Jazz going forward for the remainder of the season.
The question is, will the pros that come with that inconsistency, I.E. the passing, be enough to outweigh the bad shot selection and the potential for a lot of turnovers?
Only time will tell.