Jazz mid-season report cards: Grading Utah's starters

The All-Star break is upon us. How do we grade the Jazz's starting 5?

Lauri Markkanen shoots a fallaway jumper against the Oklahoma City Thunder
Lauri Markkanen shoots a fallaway jumper against the Oklahoma City Thunder | Alex Goodlett/GettyImages
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Power Forward | John Collins - C

John Collins, Aaron Gordon
John Collins | Alex Goodlett/GettyImages

The Jazz acquired John Collins from Atlanta for the ghost of Rudy Gay and a bag of chips. Early into his career with the Hawks, Collins was seen as one of the best young players in the league. Utah made an offer for Collins at his lowest value with the hope that his diminishing numbers were due to his system in Atlanta, rather than Collins regressing. He's been better with Utah than he was last season, but he's still far from the 20 points per game, 40% 3-point shooting, and high-flying forward that he used to be.

Center | Walker Kessler - B

Walker Kessler, Dillon Brooks
Walker Kessler throws it down against the Rockets | Tim Warner/GettyImages

Kessler has had a rough start to his sophomore season. He was injured at the beginning of the season, and it took some time for him to get into the starting lineup. Kessler has shown that he can still be a defensive anchor for Utah as one of the NBA's premier rim protectors (averaging almost 3 blocks per game!), but his offensive game needs some work. He's still getting himself back up to speed, so look forward to Kessler continuing to grow as the season continues.

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