The Utah Jazz get their home opener Friday night against the New Orleans Pelicans, and after an 0-1 start of their own, there’s a clear chance to tighten up a frontcourt that looked short-handed in the opener against Memphis.
With the Jazz coming home rested and the Pelicans also sitting at 0-1, Utah has a natural opportunity to reset after getting hammered on the glass in Wednesday’s loss. The Grizzlies beat the Jazz on the boards 55-38, and that kind of gap is hard to live with, especially when the roster is already thin in the middle because Jusuf Nurkic remains sidelined with the foot injury he suffered in the preseason.
That’s why Friday feels like a night to lean harder on Kyle Filipowski and Mo Bamba.
Filipowski barely got off the bench in the season opener, logging just nine minutes and finishing with three points on 1-of-2 shooting and one steal. His limited role may still be tied to the back surgery he worked back from this offseason. He appeared in only one preseason game out of Utah’s four, but made it back in time for the regular season opener.
If the Jazz are still easing him along, that makes sense. But if he’s ready to handle more, Utah could use his size, rebounding, and offensive flexibility at the five. Filipowski led the team in total rebounds last season, and against a team that just got pushed around inside, that matters.
Bamba has a similar case, even if his role has been less certain. He didn’t play against Memphis, but his preseason numbers showed why Utah brought him onto the main roster in the first place. In about 12 minutes per game across the Jazz’s four preseason contests, he averaged 6.8 rebounds, good enough to rank near the top of the roster, and added 5.8 points per game while shooting 71.4% from the field.
With the Jazz potentially working with just Jaxson Hayes and Filipowski in the big-man rotation, there’s a strong argument for giving Bamba at least a look. Even a 10-minute run could help Utah patch some of the size and rebounding issues that showed up right away in the opener.
The Jazz wanted extra depth at center when they signed him, and Friday night offers a clean opening to find out whether he can provide it.
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