With their season pretty much guaranteed to finish among the worst of the worst, the Utah Jazz don't have much to lose from here on out. Despite beating the Minnesota Timberwolves last night, which could be good for them, the Jazz have solidified their spot among the NBA's very worst.
With only a season and a half left, don't be surprised if the Jazz announce more "injuries" to some of their veterans like Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, and John Collins among others. That should pave the way for some of the Jazz's youngsters.
Among said youngsters is Kyle Filipowski, who has proven since Day One that he could be an important fixture in the Jazz's rotation for years to come. Because Filipowski has proven himself an NBA player, Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes predicted that Filipowski will make the second most threes in the month of March.
Hughes explained that Filipowski will likely see a larger role with the season winding down and that no matter what happens, it's good news for the Jazz.
"Given the Jazz’s bottom-three spot in the current lottery standings, they have every incentive to play Filipowski more and encourage him to fire away with abandon.
"If he stays hot, Utah can go into next year excited about the floor-stretching big it unearthed. If he cools off, those misses will further the team’s tanking ends.
"That’s a win-win," He wrote.
This further shows how impressive the Jazz's rookie class is
What this prediction demonstrates is that Filipowski has proven enough that the Jazz could give him a bigger role over this next month and a half, and that would only excite everyone to know what he'll look like fully unleashed.
When the Jazz have given him the green light, Filipowski has rarely disappointed. While not necessarily a future star (yet), Filipowski has shown that he has the makings of a high-IQ big man who can stretch the floor and even put up a double-double in enough minutes.
The only reason why his role has been somewhat limited is that the Jazz have other excellent players in the frontcourt, like Markkanen, Collins, Walker Kessler, and their new acquisition KJ Martin. If given a bigger role, the Jazz may see the full extent of a future pillar of the franchise.
His play proves just how good Utah's rookie class has been. The Jazz drafted an excellent player in the second round, which doesn't happen often. Danny Ainge has a proven track record of drafting good players, and Filipowski has been one of his best steals.
It hasn't just been Filipowski. Many are understandably making a big deal out of what Isaiah Collier has become as the season has progressed, and for good reason. He looks like he's the best distributor the Jazz have had by their side since Ricky Rubio, and they have fair reason to believe his ceiling is even higher than Rubio's
Even Cody Williams is showing there might be something to his game after all. He's still a raw player who will need some time in the oven, but he's shown his potential.
Many have shamed the Jazz for only sort of embracing their rebuild from 2022 up until this season, but the play from this rookie class, particularly from Filipowski, should put their detractors at ease.