Johnny Juzang had an impressive outing against the Golden State Warriors. Down names like Lauri Markkanen, Kris Dunn, and Jordan Clarkson, Juzang ended up getting 33 minutes of action on Sunday and made the Warriors pay. While the Jazz still lost by eight (118-108), they did more than enough to give fans a moral victory, making a comeback in the fourth and almost erasing a 41-28 first quarter in the process.
A big reason for the Jazz's ability to close the gap was Juzang, who is doing everything he can with these opportunities to warrant not just more time this season but a spot in the rotation next season. If he keeps playing like this he may just earn that spot.
Against the Warriors, he went 9-12 from the floor, while hitting 7-8 from the three-point line. He was 2-3 from the charity stripe while scoring an NBA career-high of 27 points.
He looked fantastic on both ends of the court, and while it's worth noting that Step Curry was out, and the Warriors' trio of starting guards all put up big numbers, Juzang's play was impressive.
Juzang needs to have an impressive final four games for his name to stay in the eyes and minds of the fans and management for the offseason. If he can have more outings like the Warriors game, then there's a shot, albeit a long one, that Juzang could find a spot in the bench rotation.
He's a solid defender, nothing special but good enough he won't cost you games. Yet, what he does best, stretching the court, is one of the things the Jazz need desperately. They need more three-point shooters and he's clearly someone who can provide that.
Now, can he provide it enough consistently to warrant a spot on an NBA team? That's the question that he has to answer this season and into the next. Juzang has a shot to earn a rotational spot, but he's got to put his best foot forward to justify it.