After securing their first win of the year earlier in the week, the Utah Jazz finally came back down to earth on Thursday night when they traveled to play the Milwaukee Bucks, ultimately falling 100-123, their fifth loss out of seven to be decided within double-digits.
However, when comparing this game to some of the earlier Jazz showings, one aspect of the contest that stuck out above all was how this rotation panned out, presenting some interesting names of who ended up getting big minutes, and who was left out of the mix for playing time.
On Thursday, Will Hardy and the Jazz staff made an interesting decision to prioritize the veteran talent rather than the young guys, giving offseason additions Drew Eubanks and Patty Mills a combined 34 minutes on the floor, while Utah’s youthful trio Brice Sensabaugh, Kyle Filipowski, and Isaiah Collier got 11 minutes their way– a stark difference from what we’ve seen up until this point.
Coach Hardy was later asked about his lineup decisions after Thursday’s loss, dishing out an intriguing response for what raised a few eyebrows across the fanbase.
“I have the long view in mind for all of these guys,” Hardy said. “The reality is that we can’t play every young guy every night. That’s not how this is going to work. This is the NBA, and there is a level of earning your minutes that has to happen. I don’t think that anybody has done anything wrong, but I do think that we’re looking at a body of work every day, and we do want the games to have a certain level of flow to them.”
Considering the current state of this Jazz team for this regular season, as well as how the rotation has looked for their initial two weeks of the season, the decision to give heavy run for both Mills and Eubanks was surprising.
Yet, the strategy seems to mimic the route we saw Utah take this time last season, giving guys like Simone Fontecchio, Kelly Olynyk, and John Collins big opportunities over the youth movement headlined by Taylor Hendricks Brice Sensabaugh, and Walker Kessler. It may not be the most popular choice to make, but one that Coach Hardy has stayed both confident and consistent upon.
“I think this notion of just getting minutes helps you get better, is not true,” Hardy continued. “That’s why we have practices. That’s why we have the G League. We’re going to use all of our resources to help all of these guys get better… If anybody’s going to have an emotional reaction to who plays every single night, it’s going to be a really hard year.”
Seven players under the age of 23 (excluding an injured Taylor Hendricks) and five of them being first-round picks inevitably give the Jazz one of the most appealing young cores in the entire league. Still, while the talent and lofty ceiling on the roster are apparent, a methodical and thoughtful building process still needs to take its course before this rebuild can officially take the next step.
“We have a lot of young players, and that means we have to think about the big picture of the team, the future, and each of these guys individually,” Hardy said. “My number one focus every day, and my number one focus for the remainder of the season, is going to be developing all of these young players. But like I said earlier, that doesn’t mean everybody just gets to play every night.”
Coach Hardy and the Jazz hope to get back on the winning side of things during Saturday night’s final game of a four-game road trip against the San Antonio Spurs.
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