Jazz Need Ace Bailey to Make Utah a Three-Star Team

With mild inconsistency from their bench unit and teams keying in on Lauri Markkanen, the Jazz find themselves at an interesting junction in their rebuild — they’ve begun to run into an offensive problem. 

In recent years, the Jazz have been known for having a poor defense. They are currently ranked 27th in the league with a defensive rating of 120.0 points scored on the team per 100 possessions.

This season, they’ve shown at times to be a promising offensive team, given that Markkanen is averaging just shy of 28 points per game and Keyonte George is having a breakout year on that end of the floor.

However, recent games, such as the Oklahoma City Thunder game on Nov. 21 and the Houston Rockets game on Nov. 30, where George had zero points and eight turnovers, have shown one of the Jazz’s biggest weaknesses: when opposing defenses shut down their two stars.

Without a third reliable scoring threat, the Jazz will never be able to take the next step.

Two-Star Rating Not Enough

Keyonte George in the past seven games, including the poor performance in the first game of the back-to-back against the Rockets, has been emerging into an All-Star caliber player, averaging 24.7 points, 6.4 assists, and 3.7 rebounds in that time. 

Fans would imagine this caliber of play mixed in with the prowess of Markkanen would lead to more wins. However, the Jazz have only won two games during this stretch of play. 

Markkanen is having a career year, averaging 27.9 points, 2.2 assists, and 6.3 rebounds per game. 

Markkanen leads the NBA in points off of screens with 90 points so far this season; Steph Curry is in second place with only 59 points. Markkanen also leads the league in catch-and-shoot attempts, averaging just under nine per game.

Not to mention, cutting to the basket has been a huge tool in the offensive arsenal for Markkanen this year. With his shooting76 percent at the rim, Markkanen rips apart team defenses with less dribbling.

Franchises around the league were bound to recognize the Jazz’s bell-cow and have taken advantage of Markkanen’s play style to cripple the rest of the Jazz. 

NBA Coaches Are Working Around Jazz Stars

Coaches around the league have been able to make some adjustments to the Jazz’s offensive schemes. The first adjustment is taking Markkanen out of the game, if they do that, they cripple the Jazz.

Defenses will move through screens to chase Markkanen off the three-point line or even rush his catch-and-shoot attempts — a defensive strategy that leads to rushed shots and a frustrated Markkanen.

Teams will double up Markkanen whenever he gets the ball making him pass out of it to other teammates. Even though Markkanen is capable of creating his own shot, he isn’t a master at dribbling through a defense to do so.

What about George then? He seems to be getting his fair share of points. Rival teams will let George get what he wants offensively as long as the rest of the team is out of the equation.

The Jazz bench averages 37.8 points per game, sitting ninth in NBA standings. The bench is doing what it can to keep Utah in games, but backup players can only do so much for a team. What the Jazz need is the emergence of a big three.

The team already has two stars in Markkanen and George. In order to keep up with the best teams in the league, the Jazz need to find one more consistent high powered offensive player. Especially with how poor their defense is.

Who can take this important jump to secure the Jazz a bona fide scorer? Ace Bailey can be that guy for the Jazz.

The Ace in The Hole

Bailey was drafted fifth overall by the Jazz for a reason: to become a star. Out of all of the talent on the Jazz, as it currently stands, Bailey has the best chance at becoming the next consistent scorer.

Over the last three games (between playing the Warriors on Nov. 24 to the Rockets on Nov. 30), Bailey has averaged 15 points per game. 

As coach Will Hardy continues to allow him more offensive touches, Bailey is becoming the player the Jazz are hoping him to be. The key to his success is giving him more attempts during the ball game.

Right now, Bailey averages around 8.5 field goal attempts per game, a stark comparison to Markkanen’s 20.1 attempts. As time goes on throughout the season, Hardy should entrust more attempts and possessions to Bailey.

If the Jazz truly want to be competitive by next year, they need Bailey having the ball in his hands even if it comes with mistakes and less shooting attempts for veteran players on the team.

Big Three Wanted

Ever since its inception, the NBA has always had big threes. The Bulls had Dennis Rodman, Scottie Pippen, and Michael Jordan. The Heat had LeBron, Wade, and Chris Bosh. It’s time for the Jazz to find their third member.

In three wins this year, the Jazz had three people go off for at least 20 points. In the game against the Suns on Oct. 27, the Jazz had Markkanen, George, and Walker Kessler all score over 20 points.

The same thing happened in their recent win over the Kings where Markkanen, George, and Sensabaugh all scored 20 points or more. And it was the same story with their first game against the Clippers to open the season.

If Bailey is able to step up to his role, teams will be forced to focus their defensive schemes on him. Combined with the offensive firepower of George, he free up Markkanen’s game just a bit more.

Jazz fans know what Markkanen can do for this team. If Ace Bailey can make his life easier, it means higher scoring nights for everyone and hopefully more wins in the near future.

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