Jazz G Kris Dunn Makes Statement for Starting Point Guard Job
Despite being the odd man out of rotation in the first half of the 101-96 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday, Kris Dunn was still able to stake his claim on the starting point guard job.
In just 15 second-half minutes, Dunn scored 15 points on 7-for-7 shooting while also dishing out five assists. Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy took note of Dunn’s performance in his post-game press conference.
“Kris, obviously, has a lot of experience. He's a really good communicator; he understands situations in the game really well, so I thought he did a good job of communicating to the group," Hardy said. "I thought Kris, having sat for a while in the game, came in and gave us a huge lift."
It will be interesting to see if Dunn standing out holds weight moving forward. Hardy started the game with Collin Sexton and Talen Horton-Tucker, with the results being less than stellar. The pair combined for 19 points on 6-for-19 shooting while dishing out six assists.
Setting aside their stat line, the bigger problem was the chemistry issues of pairing Horton-Tucker and Sexton up together because both players need the ball in their hands to impact the game. That might not be the best combination when the lion's share of the offense should be run through Lauri Markkanen.
The two players who can impact the game without taking away from Markkanen are Dunn and Ochai Agbagi.
Dunn is a pass-first point guard who can initiate the offense and be a secondary scoring option while also focusing on making life difficult for the opponent's best wing player.
Abaji also excels without the ball as a floor spacer and slasher to the rim. Starting Abagi over Horton-Tucker would give Markkanen more room to operate in one-on-one mismatches. Also, Abagi has the positional size needed to keep up defensively against the elite backcourts of the NBA.
It might not make sense to start both Abagi and Dunn, but inserting one into the starting lineup gives Utah more balance offensively and makes them a better team on the defensive end, too.
That said, first thing is first. Dunn hasn’t yet secured a roster spot for the 2023-24 season, but it feels like that’s just a formality. Dunn was asked about his contract situation after Sunday night's win.
"You just brought it back to my mind, so thank you so much," Dunn said. "I don't really think about it. I just do my job. Right now, I want to be a great teammate, first to the players out there playing. And when my time comes, to go out there and showcase what I've done over my career and what I've been working on the offseason. And I leave everything else to God."
All eyes are now on Tuesday night to see if any tweaks will be made to the starting lineup. The Jazz will face the Clippers again in Seattle at 8:00 MDT.
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