After four defeats in a row, Will Hardy sounded the alarm in Salt Lake City. He did well since the Jazz have just reacted with two successes in a row. Victories which coincide with the return from injury of Walker Kessler and his association with Omer Yurtseven.
The two pivots were essential in the two victories against the Pelicans. “They give us a big presence on both sides of the pitch. Having two traditional pivots helped us in these two matches”confirms the Jazz coach for the Salt Lake Tribune.
The coach made a strong choice by deciding to leave Kessler on the bench and keep confidence in Omer Yurtseven to start matches. A decision validated by the Jazz players.
“Omer is aggressive, he’s tough”begins Jordan Clarkson. “He’s very physical and powerful, and it’s perfect to have him against Jonas Valanciunas”continues Kelly Olynyk. “He’s a great player, very physical, very powerful, who deserves more credit. He sets good screens, plays hard and plays fair”even assures Kessler.
A duo that weighs 21 points, 18 rebounds and 4 blocks
In this second duel against New Orleans, the Turk compiled 7 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks in 22 minutes.
“He is undoubtedly the only player on our team who, physically, in a one-on-one situation, can try to hinder Valanciunas on the rebound,” believes Will Hardy. “Omer is a good rebounder, but with a player like Valanciunas, most of the time it’s not about getting the rebound, it’s about making sure he doesn’t get it. We need his physical impact under the circle. What we’re asking of him isn’t very pretty and it doesn’t garner the praise, but it’s important to win. »
For his part, Walker Kessler scored 14 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and blocked two shots in 26 minutes. “I thought he blocked more shots than that”commented Jordan Clarkson.
Result of the races: the two pivots compiled 21 points at 9/13 shooting, 18 rebounds and 4 blocks in total in this victory and, with two successes in a row, the Jazz are doing better.
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Lauri Markkanen | 15 | 34.1 | 48.4 | 38.3 | 84.0 | 2.4 | 6.3 | 8.7 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 2.3 | 23.7 |
| Jordan Clarkson | 15 | 31.8 | 42.5 | 32.1 | 82.7 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 4.6 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 18.3 |
| John Collins | 16 | 31.4 | 50.0 | 41.8 | 72.7 | 2.9 | 5.8 | 8.8 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 14.6 |
| Collin Sexton | 16 | 20.0 | 43.9 | 33.3 | 86.3 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 12.0 |
| Talen Horton Tucker | 16 | 22.7 | 38.8 | 30.6 | 87.5 | 0.6 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 4.6 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 2.4 | 9.6 |
| Keyonte George | 16 | 24.9 | 35.1 | 32.5 | 81.6 | 0.4 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 5.3 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 9.4 |
| Walker Kessler | 9 | 23.6 | 54.1 | 28.6 | 64.3 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 8.2 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 8.6 |
| Kelly Olynyk | 16 | 21.8 | 57.7 | 41.9 | 86.2 | 2.2 | 3.8 | 5.9 | 3.9 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 2.8 | 8.0 |
| Simone Fontecchio | 14 | 14.1 | 47.6 | 41.3 | 100.0 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 5.8 |
| Ochai Agbaji | 16 | 18.9 | 42.9 | 37.2 | 60.0 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 4.9 |
| Omer Yurtseven | 10 | 9.1 | 63.3 | 22.2 | 60.0 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 4.3 |
| Kris Dunn | 13 | 10.3 | 43.2 | 44.4 | 62.5 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 3.6 |
| Luka Samanic | 6 | 4.3 | 38.5 | 28.6 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 2.2 |
| Taylor Hendricks | 1 | 2.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| Brice Sensabaugh | 1 | 2.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
