What's been going on with Keyonte George?

The Utah Jazz's "point guard of the future" is looking anything but.
Cleveland Cavaliers v Utah Jazz
Cleveland Cavaliers v Utah Jazz / Alex Goodlett/GettyImages
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Keyonte George has fallen off the proverbial cliff. The rookie point guard isn't having a good season, and the current 10-game losing streak that the Utah Jazz have been on has severely damaged the perception of the young guard. An inconsistent scorer and a bad defender all season, George at least had his playmaking to fall back on. Yet, since the Jazz's last win on March 15, George has fallen off.

In 10 games, George is just 40-131 (30.5%) from the floor, just 12-63 (19%) from three, and is only averaging 12.8 points per game, despite taking over 13 shots per game. He is easily one of the least efficient scorers on the Utah Jazz, and that's not new. He's been like this all season. It's only now that he doesn't have guys like Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson to carry the bulk of the shooting.g

On the year he's shooting just 38.6% from the floor and 33% from three. Considering there are other rookies putting up far better percentages, saying "he's just a rookie" really isn't the defense you think it is. Of all the rookies who have played at least 50 games this season, and have at least 20 minutes per game, only one player; Scott Henderson, has a worse shooting season than George.

It's not due to a lack of opportunities either, aside from Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren nd Brandon Miller, no rookie has shot the ball more than George. George does lead all rookies in assists (310), but he also is third in turnovers behind Wembanyama (first) and Henderson (second) with 166.

40 of those have come over these 10 games, which is nearly double his season average, and just about as much, per game, as his number of assists. Speaking of which, they are up slightly over these 10 games, but he's only averaging 4.7 assists, against 4.0 turnovers, not exactly a nice ratio.

The argument that he's a rookie really doesn't hold water, not when so many other rookies are playing so much better. Yes, this 10-game stretch hasn't been good for anyone, and yes, it's only 10 games out of 82, but it's also worth pointing out that he's had these stretches before. Aside from a few games in December and a hot streak in February, this has largely been who he is.

Does that mean he won't ever get better? Of course not, but we can't assume he will just because some of us are huge fans of his. Right now, George has fallen off so hard that I'd be shocked and would argue against, him making either All-Rookie Teams.

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