The NBA consolation games continue for the Utah Jazz (5-19). The participation prize? The Jazz are about to play their second game in 8 days, as they travel to the City of Angels to take on the Los Angeles Clippers (14-12).
The Jazz were ran out of the building in the last matchup between these two teams, but now they return with some firepower. The Jazz and Suns tied the NBA record for a combined 44 three-pointers in the loss at the Delta Center — 22 of them coming from Utah’s end. NBA teams were 78-5 all-time when making at least 20 threes and shooting at least 56% from deep. Utah’s latest loss has now made it 78-6.
It’s been a rough spot for the LA Clippers. They’ve lost their last 3 games at the hands of the Wolves, Rockets and Nuggets. They’ve been shorthanded throughout this stretch and will continue to be tonight without Terance Mann or Derrick Jones Jr. The Clippers are shooting just 41.5% from the field and just 31.3% from beyond the arc. With their struggles on the offensive side of the court, this game could decided by just a few lucky or unlucky possessions.
Injury Report
Jazz:
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QUESTIONABLE– Jordan Clarkson (left plantar fasciitis)
OUT– Svi Mykhailiuk (left groin strain), Taylor Hendricks (right fibula fracture)
Clippers:
OUT – Kawhi Leonard (right knee injury recovery), Terance Mann (left middle finger fracture), Derrick Jones Jr (right hamstring injury), Kobe Brown (back injury management), P.J. Tucker (not with team), Cam Christie (G League), Trentyn Flowers (G-League)
How to Watch:
Who: Utah Jazz vs. Los Angeles Clippers
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When: December 16th, 8:30PM Mountain Time
Where: Intuit Dome, Los Angeles
Watch: Jazz+, KJZZ
Cody Williams has a chance at redemption
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Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images
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Spending the last seven games with the Salt Lake City Stars, Cody Williams is back with the team after being recalled.
The 10th overall pick averaged 13.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals on 30/22/68 shooting splits in his time in the G League. These aren’t the most glamorous numbers, but Williams likely played his best game as a pro the last time he was against the Clippers.
He recorded 8 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 stocks on 60% from the field while making the correct defensive rotations and converting his open shots. 1 game later, Williams was sent down to the G League team so he could have a chance to put up more shots. If Williams could be somewhat productive after this new wave of confidence, the Colorado alumni might be able to work himself right back into the Jazz rotation.
What can Keyonte learn from the league’s former premier scorer?
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Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images
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Jazz fans know this man all too well. He’s kicked this franchise in the backside for two consecutive playoff runs during the Donovan Mitchell/Rudy Gobert era. James Harden may not be the glory that he was back in 2018-19, but he’s managed to command the Clippers to a 14-12 record without Kawhi Leonard.
This season he’s averaged 21.4 points, 8.4 assists and 6.7 boards, shooting 38.0% from the field and 33.8% from deep. Poetically, he also became second on the all-time threes list the last time these two teams faced at Intuit Dome.
Keyonte George is setting himself up to be a Harden disciple. Well — not in the sense of dropping 40+ points on a nightly basis, but for how he accounts for the team’s scoring load. When Markkanen struggles, Keyonte has set himself up to be second-in-command for putting the ball in the basket. His combination of drives and three-point looks give him a delightful combo that results in unassisted buckets.
There’s still room for improvement — improving his shot selection could elevate his efficiency, and lowering his assist/turnover ratio. As he continues to refine his skills and find his rhythm, Jazz fans optimistic about George’s contributions to games in the future.
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Clayton Keller scored a power-play goal with 43.8 seconds remaining and the Utah Hockey Club rallied to beat the San Jose Sharks 4-3 on Saturday night.
Michael Carcone tied it midway through the third and then Utah won it during 4-on-3 play shortly after Cody Ceci was called for high-sticking.
Utah won the faceoff and Keller got the puck in the slot and beat Vitek Vanecek for his 10th goal of the season.
Dylan Guenther and Nick Schmaltz also scored for Utah. Karel Vejmelka made 19 saves.
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Fabian Zetterlund gave San Jose a 3-2 lead early in the third period on the power play but the Sharks couldn’t close it out. Alexander Wennberg and Mikael Granlund also scored for San Jose. Vanecek made 36 saves.
Takeaways
Utah: Utah has won four of five games and has points in all five thanks to the comeback win.
Sharks: San Jose returned home following a 3-3 road trip and had a lead early in the third period but couldn’t close it out. The Sharks have lost four of five games.
Key moment
Utah forward Kevin Stenlund sent San Jose rookie Macklin Celebrini into the boards with a hit from behind in the second period that didn’t lead to a penalty to the ire of the Sharks. Celebrini was able to stay in the game. Stenlund tripped Celebrini in a preseason game that sent him into the boards in a crash that injured Celebrini’s ankle.
Key stat
Celebrini assisted on Zetterlund’s goal and has 20 points in his first 21 career games. The other other 18-year olds in the last 30 seasons to do that are Sidney Crosby (25 points), Ryan Nugent Hopkins (22) and Patrick Kane (22).
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Up next
Utah hosts Vancouver on Wednesday night while the Sharks host Winnipeg on Tuesday night.
Catch nearly all Utah Hockey Club games on Utah 16 this fall!
If the first quarter of this NBA regular season has shown anything for the Utah Jazz, it’s that this team has some work to do before becoming a serious competitor in a tough Western Conference.
The Jazz have kicked this year off with a 5-19 record, rank in the bottom two of the West next to the New Orleans Pelicans, rank in the bottom ten of the NBA for both offensive and defensive rating, and are well in line to have a shot at securing Cooper Flagg or another top prospect come next offseason.
And that top prospect next summer may be exactly what the Jazz could use in their long-winded rebuild process. Utah now enters the third year of the post-Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert era, and many still look at this roster wondering where the cornerstones for the future are.
It’s exactly the topicBleacher Report and Grant Hughes addressed as they sounded off on one “tough question” for each NBA team so far into this season. For the Jazz, their entry was simple: where’s the cornerstone?
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“It’s a good thing the Utah Jazz have a dozen first-round picks and an additional swap coming to them in the next five drafts because it doesn’t look like any of their recent selections is capable of being a foundational piece,” Hughes said. “It’s early for recent first-rounders Keyonte George, Cody Williams and Taylor Hendricks (currently out for the year), but none of them has shown clear starter upside this season… Now into the third year after trading away Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert to trigger a rebuild, it’s not clear the Jazz have anything approaching a cornerstone.”
Over the past three offseasons, the Jazz have done a strong job of piling together future assets and young players to help bolster their rebuild following the blockbuster Mitchell and Gobert deals. The progress made is impressive, especially considering their past three drafts and the first-round picks to come.
Yet, besides Lauri Markkanen, none on the roster have proven to be elite, All-NBA caliber talents. The arrow is starting to point up around Walker Kessler in his third year, but guys like the mentioned Keyonte George, Cody Williams, and Taylor Hendricks have all had some inhibiting factors to truly reaching their advertised ceiling.
The guys brought in from this summer and the two before it still have a ton of room to grow and have time on their side, but when comparing the Jazz to some of the other youth movements around the NBA, the talent is still a few steps away from truly stacking up.
Even through the recent struggles the Jazz have seen in the standings, they haven’t emerged with a top-five pick to truly position themselves with a top prospect. Utah has done well with late lottery picks and selections deeper in the first (or second) round all things considered. Yet, another cornerstone to pair next to Markkanen would be a significant addition to this budding young core.
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Thankfully for the Jazz, this upcoming 2025 draft class presents a perfect opportunity to strengthen their current core of young players. Whether it be Flagg or another top-end prospect like Dylan Harper or Ace Bailey, there are tons of reasons for optimism looking ahead to next summer.
Things might not be pretty for the Jazz in wins and losses in the meantime, but there’s a light shining at the end of the tunnel.
Southern Utah Thunderbirds (8-3) at New Mexico State Aggies (4-6)
Las Cruces, New Mexico; Monday, 9 p.m. EST
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BOTTOM LINE: New Mexico State hosts Southern Utah after Christian Cook scored 22 points in New Mexico State’s 91-67 loss to the Texas Longhorns.
The Aggies have gone 2-1 in home games. New Mexico State has a 2-3 record in games decided by 10 or more points.
The Thunderbirds have gone 1-3 away from home. Southern Utah averages 78.3 points while outscoring opponents by 6.6 points per game.
New Mexico State is shooting 41.4% from the field this season, 0.7 percentage points higher than the 40.7% Southern Utah allows to opponents. Southern Utah has shot at a 45.5% rate from the field this season, 5.5 percentage points higher than the 40.0% shooting opponents of New Mexico State have averaged.
TOP PERFORMERS: Cook is scoring 14.1 points per game and averaging 2.3 rebounds for the Aggies.
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Jamir Simpson is scoring 16.6 points per game and averaging 4.4 rebounds for the Thunderbirds.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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