Kenneth Lofton is a prospect with a lot of hype around him. He's undersized but a physical force of a center, able to throw his hips and butt into bigger players and force them off the block down low. He's an incredible rebounder and in the G-League was an absolute tank when it came to scoring. He's got the skills needed to make it in the NBA, he just needs an opportunity. With just a handful of games left and guys like Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson, Walker Kessler, and John Collins out, Lofton got his debut.
And it went...fine.
On one hand, he had a nice night in the advanced metrics since. Only Kris Dunn had a positive box plus-minus (BPM), with a +5. Yet, Lofton had the second-best score of anyone who played more than 10 minutes, putting in 17 minutes and getting himself a -4 BPM. Micah Potter and Luka Samanic also had respectable BPM considering how ugly the 131-102 blowout loss to the LA Clippers was.
Lofton didn't light up the box score however, putting up just 3-7 from the floor, with seven points and one rebound on the night. He did go 1-2 from three, so he at least finished with a better percentage from deep than someone like Keyonte George (0-4).
Lofton's first appearance this season didn't set the team on fire, nor did he help the team win, clearly, as they lost by 29. But, considering the Jazz aren't likely to play Markkanen, Collins, Kessler or Clarkson again for the remaining five games, it's likely that Lofton will get more opportunities.
In fact, with how bad the "future" of the Jazz has been as of late, I would replace George, Taylor Hendricks, and Brice Sensabaugh in the starting lineup with Johnny Juzang, Lofton, and Luka Samanic.
Let's see what those under-utilized players can do with an actual game plan built around them, Collin Sexton, and whoever they want alongside them (Kris Dunn?).