Oct 10, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Utah Jazz guard Talen Horton-Tucker (5) dribbles against the LA Clippers during the third quarter at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
It’s only preseason but the Utah Jazz could use a stable point guard
The Utah Jazz may want to go get a real point guard after all.
The Utah Jazz did not look good against the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night. While the team mounted a comeback of sorts in the third, the Jazz still lost 103-98 and the story of the day was the turnovers. As our own Dan Lower pointed out, in the first two preseason games the Jazz had 36 turnovers and 16 just last night.
The biggest culprit was Jordan Clarkson, one of the players we’ve heard all offseason long may be in the running as the team’s point-man in the offense. Clarkson, now coming off the bench, probably showcased all we needed to see about him running the offense while taking on the Clippers in Seattle.
He had four turnovers on his own to only three assists, not a great sign of things to come. The high man on the team with assists was Talen Horton-Tucker with seven assists to only two turnovers. He even had a solid game from the floor, hitting 50% of his shots.
The issue with Horton-Tucker is his shot selection. He took too many shots with defenders in his face and his three-point shot might be the worst on the team among the guards and forwards. He went 2-7 from three, but most of the misses were ugly.
Collin Sexton doesn’t look much better, however. Clarkson hustled for rebounds (5), and Horton-Tucker was a solid defender on guys all night, but Sexton didn’t provide anything for the team to rely on with his shot not falling. Going 1-5 isn’t a bad thing, especially in preseason, as games like that happen to just about everyone. But to not provide any bit of support beyond scoring is not a good sign of things to come.
He at least hustled, but that’s the bare minimum.
Keyonte George looked ok at times last night but it felt like he was rushing his shots. The two names who did impress, at least defensively, were Kris Dunn and Ochai Agbaji. Agbaji is showing some real two-way prowess, especially when it comes to his ability to guard. Dunn, on the other hand, should be given the starting point guard spot now; assuming no major trade is made.
And a major trade may be necessary. Malcolm Brogdon is out there, and who knows what the Chris Paul-Golden State Warrior situation is at. They may want to move on from him if the team doesn’t gel well to start the season.
Granted, the guy to get was Jrue Holiday and the team missed out on him, but if this is the best the Jazz’s guards are going to look this year, the team may need to go get someone else to help fortify things, because the guard play in last night’s game was bad.
Very bad.
