Voltar
The Utah Jazz are currently stuck in the middle of a lowly six-game losing streak following the events of their 113-120 overtime loss vs. the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night.
However, even as the Jazz weren't able to escape New Orleans with a win to lift up from the floor of the Western Conference, this game still had a couple of noteworthy winners on Utah's side worth noting for how well they performed.
At the same time, the Jazz also had a couple of losers that stood out en route to their seventh loss in eight games, and also deserve their share of attention.
With all of that in mind, let's take a look at a couple of the Jazz's biggest winners and losers from their latest loss vs. the Pelicans that drops them to a disappointing 1-7:
What a night it was for Keyonte George.
In a game where it felt like the Jazz couldn't connect on anything offensively, George was the one who managed to carry Utah into a position where ending their lengthy losing streak was within reach.
He ended with a season-high 39 points on 51.9% shooting with two rebounds, nine assists, and four steals. It was one of, if not the best, performances of George's season so far, where he shined on both sides of the ball and proved once again that he's one of the more talented young guards in the NBA today.
The only part of George's night that could've been better is if he could've just gotten off his near game-winner at the buzzer to end the fourth quarter. That might be the difference between Utah's win total sitting at two instead of just one.
In the Jazz's last game against the San Antonio Spurs, Isaiah Collier saw his opportunity within the rotation take a massive hit compared to what he's been used to throughout his past two years on the roster. He played just 12 minutes where he finished with seven points, two rebounds and two assists.
And in this game against the Pelicans, we saw even less of Collier on the floor. He played just three minutes, where he logged only one rebound. And now, it starts to reveal just how the Jazz really feel about Collier being in their plans moving forward after reports surfaced that Utah declined his fourth-year option.
It wouldn't be a shock if we ended up seeing Collier as a DNP in the games ahead as the Jazz continue to try and lean on Keyonte George and Darryn Peterson for the vast majority of their point guard minutes. Not the most ideal start to the season for the third-year guard.
As the Jazz continue to need players down the depth chart in their frontcourt without the pairing of Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jusuf Nurkic, it's been Mo Bamba who's continued to add the edge of rebounding and rim protection that this rotation benefits immensely from.
Bamba finished with seven points on 3-5 shooting from the field, a season-high 10 rebounds, and one block.
The good news for the Jazz's big man rotation is that Jusuf Nurkic is reportedly set to be re-evaluated from his foot injury in the coming days. But if Bamba continues to play like this, it'll be hard for Hardy to keep him out of the rotation.
This was another disappointing outing for Darryn Peterson, which has added to a pretty slow start to his highly anticipated rookie campaign.
Peterson ended with just seven points on 2-8 shooting, with two rebounds and seven assists. It was the lowest scoring total and shooting efficiency that he's seen in a game this year.
Not only have the Jazz not figured out how to efficiently utilize their No. 2 overall pick as a true offensive weapon, but it seems as if Peterson's confidence has taken a hit early in the year. He's shooting just 35.2% from the field and 32.4% from three on the season.
It's far too early to panic about Peterson and his future in Utah. But for his stock to get back on track, the Jazz need to find ways to get their star rookie in advantageous situations offensively, while continuing to lean on his other skillsets that have popped in the first few games, such as his playmaking and defensive ability.