Jazz's Will Hardy Reveals Isaiah Collier's Most Impressive Skill

After starting his rookie season off injured on the sidelines, USC product and now Utah Jazz guard Isaiah Collier has begun to make a notable impression on Will Hardy and the rest of the team's staff as he's gotten his feet wet in the league.

It hasn't been a perfect start for the 20-year-old, as his shot-making ability and efficiency haven't quite shaped up through 11 games (3.7 PPG, 33.3% FG, 15.8% 3PT), but regardless of those shortcomings, there are a few other areas to his game providing some tremendous value to the Jazz's backcourt-- specifically his playmaking ability.

Jazz coach Will Hardy recently sounded off to the media about some of the eye-catching traits he's seen from his rookie guard, mentioning his vision and timing as a key motor for Utah's offense.

"To this point, I think Isaiah [Collier] is our best player at delivering the lob to the fives," Hardy said. "He's shown the best timing and feel for that specific play. I think some of our other guards, wings, young perimeter players have gotten much better at seeing the corner, but, the timing of that lob, Isaiah is probably the best guy on our team at it... That has impressed me a lot. It's a really valuable skill because you start punishing fives for over-rotating."

For a team that struggled last season, and even parts of this season, with efficient and effective ball movement, finding a young, high IQ playmaker in the backcourt to build forward with is a significant boost to this Jazz rebuild.

"I also think that his passing in transition, his willingness to get off the ball early has been a driver of our pace," Hardy continued. "The game feels faster when Isaiah's in the game, and it's not just because he's a fast runner. He moves the ball quickly."

Per 36 minutes, Collier ties a team-high 6.5 assists per game, right alongside second-year guard Keyonte George. While his turnovers also jump to a team-high 4.7, those flaws can be worked out in due time, especially for a young, mainly inexperienced guard.

As the season moves on and Collier gets better adjusted to the NBA game, you could expect his consistency in both distributing and shooting the ball to improve with it.

Nonetheless, things are looking to be on the right track for this rebuilding Jazz backcourt.

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