The Utah Jazz should just tank if they're going to keep starting Keyonte George
By Chad Porto
Objectively speaking, Keyonte George is not playing well. Anyone watching knows that, as he's shooting just 34% from the floor, 32% from three, with just under five assists and just over two turnovers per game. He's dropping 9.9 points per game as well and while that may seem ok for a Top 20 pick like George, keep in mind that he's shooting 12+ times per game and that's all he can muster.
And if that was all, if he was a solid defender and he was just struggling on offense; ok, that's fine. But he's as bad defensively as he is offensively. His offensive box plus-minus is -1.9 and is defensive box plus-minus is -2.4; giving him a total BPM of -4.3. That's truly awful, and only Jordan Clarkson and Kris Dunn have worse BPMs on the year.
Though for Dunn, he's a positive DBPM player, unlike either George or Clarkson.
And none of this is meant to minimize how good George can be, only to highlight how bad he currently is. Sure, it's very possible he improves as the season goes on, and gets better in real-time to the point where he's a servicable, if not better, point guard for the Utah Jazz.
We're just not there yet, people and the more Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy wants to keep playing him, the more it's likely the Jazz don't win games. George just isn't capable of playing winning basketball at this point in his career. The best role for him is 15-19 minutes per game off the bench, so he can get experience and limit his negative impact on the team. That's not what's happening, however, as the Jazz think he's the best option for the team.
And if you're tanking, sure, play George. But if you're actually trying to make the playoffs, then George should be the last person, aside from Clarkson or Talen Horton-Tucker, who should be starting at point guard for the Jazz.