The Utah Jazz season has been a very interesting one so far. Lauri Markkanen is back to playing like an All-Star. Lottery pick Ace Bailey has been showing a lot of flashes of greatness. Plus, Keyonte George looks like one of the future stars here.
On the other hand, they lost Walker Kessler for the season in the second week. They have veterans all over the roster. And Kevin Love (yes, you read that right) just helped lead the team to a win. He even survived a Ja Morant poster attempt.
39 points from George were of course the primary reason for Utah’s 130-126 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
But, Love had his best game in nearly two years. 20 points. Eight rebounds. Four triples. The 37-year-old even played crunch-time minutes.
Winning games because your oldest player steps up has got to be one of the best things in this league.
Vintage Kevin Love in Memphis
The Utah Jazz sit at 9-15, in the #11 spot in the Western Conference. The playoffs do not seem to be in the cards this year, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t going to continue to be one of the most interesting watches in the league.
When Kevin Love turns back the clock and knocks in four triples and nearly puts up 20 and 10, it’s must see. Starting center Jusuf Nurkic was three assists away from a triple-double, as a matter of fact.
Between Utah’s two primary bigs, they got 33 points, 24 rebounds, and eight assists. Efficiency that isn’t being seen by too many teams and their centers.
Not much was expected of Love in Utah this season. Most believed he would leave, shortly after being acquired over the summer. But the long-time big man opted to stick around, and offer veteran leadership. Minutes were given to him in the preseason, and then all of a sudden, post-Kessler injury, he was the primary backup center.
Teams with veterans like the Jazz, will be better off for it in the long run. And perhaps Love is even earning himself the chance to be either traded or bought out to go join a contender in February. If he wants to.
Next Steps for the Utah Jazz
As Lauri Markkanen and Keyonte George continue to play like stars, it is clear that this Utah team has some real future building blocks. Deals for Markkanen have been ilnked all over social media, but no deals appear to imminent.
With these two around, they can figure out the needs at other positions. Ace Bailey has looked promising during his first campaign with the Jazz, joining the starting lineup pretty early on, and lot looking back.
There are plenty of long-term needs at the center position here, depending on how Walker Kessler’s rehab and return come into play next season. Veterans on expiring contracts that could be moved for assets, like Georges Niang and Jusuf Nurkic.
This is a scrappy offensive team, that has proven the ability to score with the best of them. The defensive end is where work has to be done.
Utah is #11 in the league in scoring, but 29th in points allowed. An obvious losing recipe, but one that can be mended work work and hustle.
Kevin Love playing a big role in last night’s win does matter a lot. It shows that guys still have plenty in the tank and can deliver here. Perhaps it can fire up some others, too.
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