Ace Bailey had his breakout game for the Utah Jazz the other night, which bodes well for the rest of the season now that he's getting more comfortable. If that's not exciting enough on its own, Kevin Love revealed that Bailey's efforts to fit in along with his willingness to learn from Love, who was once among the NBA's biggest stars, should excited Jazz fans for what's to come.
Following Bailey's career night against the Indiana Pacers, Love revealed what has impressed him about Bailey since becoming teammates.
“He’s highly intentional. He, even at 19, fits in with us. He wants to do the right thing always,” Kevin Love told The Salt Lake Tribune's Andy Larsen. “Ten games in, once he gets to 20, he’s gonna make another step — once he gets to 40, and once he gets a full season."
Love also revealed that he wished he had developed some of the habits Bailey already has early on.
“I didn’t have the presence of mind to reach out to somebody that’s 18 years in and 37 years old — ‘Can you show me this footwork? Can you show me on film what you’re seeing?’" Love said. “I’m, like, very impressed by that.”
Love came into his own when he started developing better habits in the NBA. He first entered the league being a little heavier than most, but once he committed to a strict physical regimen, he reached a new level. Bailey's conditioning has never been in question, but the fact that he wants to be great by any means necessary shows the Jazz that they really have something special on their hands.
It sounds like Bailey is just getting warmed up
One of the subtler hints from Love's words is that he believes Bailey will only get better from here. Sure, he didn't hit the ground running when he first started with the Jazz, but 19-year-old rookies like him absolutely deserve some leeway.
Now that he's a starter, Bailey should get more opportunities to prove just how high his ceiling can be. While it's not like the Jazz fanbase should expect 20-point nights on a regular basis from here, expect Bailey to show more progress both as a prospect and as a fit for what the Jazz want him to do.
It may not necessarily translate into wins - and keep in mind that Utah may not have a problem with losing a lot of games this season - but Bailey by himself could make the Jazz's future look so much more promising by himself.
Even though their record isn't that much better than it was around this time last year, Utah looks so much more fun compared to last season. Bailey isn't single-handedly responsible for that - in fact he's not even the primary reason for that - but him looking taking baby steps to become the Jazz's next franchise player has to make the Jazz feel good about what lies ahead for both him and them.