The Utah Jazz head into Friday night’s preseason finale in Phoenix with more than one storyline worth watching. It’s their last tune-up before the games start counting next week, and with a third exhibition win on the line, a handful of players have one final chance to make a lasting impression.
Jaxson Hayes is at the center of that conversation. He’s started the past two preseason games in place of Jusuf Nurkic, who is set to miss multiple weeks because of a foot injury suffered in preseason. That has put Hayes in position to make a strong case for the Jazz’s fifth starting spot.
Through three preseason games, Hayes has put up 6.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game in a little more than 16 minutes a night. If he continues to produce and keeps finding a rhythm with the rest of the starting group, there’s not much mystery left about where he stands in that battle.
Mo Bamba is another name to keep in view, especially with the Jazz dealing with frontcourt uncertainty. Nurkic is already out, Kyle Filipowski has also missed time, and that opens the door for Bamba to see early-season bench minutes if the Jazz need size and depth inside.
He has been one of the more stable rotation pieces in the preseason so far, playing more than 10 minutes a night in all three games. That workload has translated to 7.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, and another strong outing against Phoenix could do real work for his rotation case. It could also strengthen his standing as he looks to secure one of the final spots on opening night and keep his non-guaranteed contract in play.
Then there’s Ace Bailey, whose preseason has offered a different kind of test. The offensive upside is there, but Friday’s game is just as much about what he shows on defense.
The Jazz have made defense a priority this season, and head coach Will Hardy has already pointed to Bailey’s progress on that side of the floor. After Bailey’s first preseason game against the Nuggets, Hardy said it was the best game of his career so far because of the way he attacked defense.
Whether Devin Booker plays or not, the matchup with the Suns gives Bailey another chance to measure where his defensive game stands with the regular season only a week away.
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