Jazz's Keyonte George is quietly torching stars on a regular basis

Keyonte George has been a completely different player this season. His biggest flaw - his erratic shooting - remains a problem, but everywhere else, George has been nothing short of spectacular. One of the best ways in which this has shown itself is his ability to torch some of the NBA's best defenders, including Jrue Holiday and Derrick White.

While George's shooting woes are still there, anyone who has been watching can see that he is capable of scoring against the NBA's lockdown defensive guards. When the Jazz nearly completed their miraculous comeback over the Portland Trail Blazers, George hung nine points on Holiday on three-for-three shooting, demonstrating that even an All-NBA defender and two-time champion doesn't faze him.

It was even more apparent when George went up against White in Utah's win over Boston last night. George played a key role in helping the Jazz come back against the Celtics. George hung eight points on White on three-for-four shooting, while the team itself scored 16 points when White covered George.

George had 31 points on the night, signifying that nothing would stop him no matter what the Celtics threw at him.

George's ascension has been the most pleasant surprise of this young Jazz season. He has shown improvement across the board that the hype train for him is humming again when many wondered, after only two seasons, if he was already out of the Jazz's future plans.

George is taking the leap many thought would come last year

This is the player the Jazz thought they were getting last year. A do-it all guard on both ends of the floor with refined scoring ability. That players appears to have finally arrived, even if it took a little longer than Utah would have liked. But hey, better late than never.

It is actually pretty impressive because while George's shooting remains erratic, it seems like he really wanted to tackle everywhere else in his game over the offseason, and it's beginning to pay off. His individual defense, playmaking, rebounding, are all better. Even his scoring is still pretty good even if his efficiency from the field could be better.

Even if George didn't have his best sophomore season, he earnestly tried to make his impact felt. However, between not getting the results he desired and the Jazz's historically bad performance, he became more downtrodden as the season progressed, lowlighted by Utah benching him in favor of Isaiah Collier mid-season.

However, he put his head down, got to work this offseason, and took the necessary steps to become the player he currently is. From the looks of things, he adopted a "work smarter, not harder" mentality. Following an offseason that came with many questions about his long-term prospects, George should not only be unquestionably considered a key part of the Jazz's youth movement.

He's currently leading it.