The Jazz and head coach Will Hardy made a notable lineup change on Saturday, inserting rookie Isaiah Collier at point guard and benching Keyonte George. As Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune notes, George had started every game since the middle of his rookie campaign last year.
After a promising rookie year in which he earned All-Rookie Second Team honors, George has endured a sophomore slump. While his per-game stats have generally risen, the second-year guard hasn’t been able to elevate his teammates. Utah has won just 10 games after contending for a play-in spot last season.
George, the 16th pick of the 2023 draft, is averaging 16.2 points and 5.8 assists in 31.6 minutes per game but is shooting just 38.4% from the field. Collier, the 29th pick of last season’s draft, is more adept at pushing the pace and initiating the offense than George and has also played better on the defensive side.
However, Collier is more turnover prone (2.6 in 21.3 minutes per game) and has also struggled with his shooting (35.2% from the floor).
How long the switch lasts depends on the performance of Collier and the team’s fortunes with him as the floor leader. In his first start, he had eight points, eight assists and four turnovers in 33 minutes in a 22-point loss to Memphis. He also committed five fouls. He has started 10 games, as George missed 10 games due to ankle and heel injuries.
George played the same number of minutes as Collier and contributed eight points and seven assists but had a miserable shooting night, going 3-for-15 from the field.
This move does a few things… first it makes the Jazz worse which in turn helps their lottery chances, then it boosts Collier’s numbers which adds potential trade value with the possibility he blossoms in the starting role. Also, George has had time to build his statistics and potential trade value. Now he’ll come off the bench which could help his numbers even more.
Later in the season they should switch back with George back as the starting PG unless they trade him. You are completely right about everything. This helps Collier and hopefully next season is ready to take over full time.
Next years draft is a good chance for Utah to finish a rebuild and compete at the same time. I do see alot of players to draft
I’m generally not a fan of just throwing guys out there blind just to see what they can do. But it will be interesting to see what Collier can do. He was a very highly regarded HS recruit 18 months ago.
I could see the Suns and Bulls finding common ground on a Nurkic for Patrick Williams deal.
Bulls should be tanking out of 10th…they can get at least a first-rounder for Vooch, and Nurkic would fill the void as their new starting center.
Suns are asset poor long-term but seemingly willing to run a crazy high payroll, which is an asset they can leverage by acquiring under water contracts at low draft pick cost and rehabbing them, like the Warriors did with Wiggins. Williams’ contract looks really bad now, but he’s young and would fill a defensive void as a big wing in Phoenix. As the 5th-best offensive player on the floor in phoenix, he might look a lot better.
I think a fair price there is the worst of the Suns’ first rounders for Williams – roughly a No 30 overall pick. Or maybe offering the Bulls 1-2 first-round swaps. Nurkic is essentially 1.5 years of dead money to the Suns but is a useful starting C to the Bulls if Vooch is traded.
Isaiah Collier? Keyonte George? Anything remotely related to the Utah Jazz? Oh yeah, Phoenix and Utah are WC teams.
My bad. Meant to post this in the hoopsrumors thread adjacent to this one, community shoot around discussion about Nurk.
I have liked what I have seen from Collier, he had some major floor general vibes and is probably a better fit alongisde Sexton
However, I think this move is more disciplinatory towards Keyonte George than anything else. He is turning into an insane shot chucker.
He had 10 assists 2 games ago…
Tanking season is in full effect, but teams like Utah need to throw guys to the wolves and see if they can even play. They should be looking deal the vets they have.