The Utah Jazz followed Saturday’s victory over the Sixers with another on Monday vs. the Bucks, and are hoping the confidence they’re feeling in the aftermath can produce more good results.
Since returning from his foot injury, Utah Jazz rookie Keyonte George has often been overly passive, fading into the background on the court. In Saturday’s second half vs. the Sixers, though, he showed off some needed aggression.
Ahead of Friday’s Jazz-Celtics game, colleagues-turned-counterparts Will Hardy and Joe Mazzulla discussed their once-competing bids to get Utah’s head coaching job, and how their respective answers to one particular question may have proved a sliding-door moment.
After a stretch of nine wins in 12 games, there was some thought that the Utah Jazz were finally turning a corner. But with a blowout loss Friday in Boston to be followed by games vs. three more top-flight opponents, the team is eager to prove the recent success wasn’t a facade.
The Utah Jazz’s 154-148 overtime victory vs. the struggling Pistons on Wednesday included epic offense, sloppy defense, a huge late mistake, and plenty of smaller miscues the team will focus on going forward.
Rabbi Avremi Zippel said he wanted to make a point about Mavs guard Kyrie Irving and antisemitism by bringing a sign reading “I’m a Jew and I’m proud,” to Monday’s game. The team, in turn, said Zippel “created a distraction and interfered with play of game.”
While rookie Keyonte George and the Utah Jazz continue to work on his ability to orchestrate an attack and pick up on defensive nuances, Saturday’s win in Miami was largely attributable to him just letting some 3s fly.
While the Las Vegas Bowl itself was an eyesore, it gave Utah’s Miles Battle another chance to show NFL personnel that he can play on Sundays, while Tao Johnson got an opportunity to prove to Utes coaches that he can handle every position in the defensive backfield.