Three thoughts on the Utah Jazz’s 91-89 summer league loss in overtime to the San Antonio Spurs from Salt Lake Tribune Jazz beat writer Andy Larsen.
1. Kyle Filipowski looks ready
Your leading scorer across all of summer league, across all teams: Kyle Filipowski.
Once again, he showed why on Monday night with an excellent inside-out performance against the San Antonio Spurs, one of summer league’s best defenses. In an overtime game, Filipowski played 32 minutes and scored 35 points, shooting 11-19 from the field. He added 11 rebounds, two offensive, along with two assists and only two turnovers.
The comfort in shooting the three as quickly as he does, while also being able to hold his own inside and finish, is Filipowski’s most remarkable skillset. This level of versatility and scoring puts him in the class of NBA rotational bigs already, even just entering his second year.
You also love to see the passion and emotion in Filipowski with a punctuating game-tying dunk. While it didn’t end up sealing the outcome, it was a huge play, and the confidence he showed there can translate. This is why Filipowski is still playing in summer league, for moments like that.
On paper, on a team with Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler, Filipowski makes sense as a sixth-man big; analogous to what Naz Reid is to the Timberwolves. And maybe that’s the answer.
But to be honest, I’m curious if there’s a way to get him to start. If the Jazz swung Markkanen up to the three to get John Collins on the floor, could they do the same to get Filipowski to the four. A starting lineup of Isaiah Collier or Walter Clayton Jr., Ace Bailey, Lauri Markkanen, Kyle Filipowski, and Walker Kessler makes some sense, in my view.
It’s been an excellent summer league for Filipowski, easily the Jazz’s brightest spot so far.
2. John Tonje makes his debut
John Tonje had yet to play in summer league for the Jazz, but he recovered from an ankle sprain in time to play Monday. And he finished with a solid enough line: 16 points (5-9 from the floor, 4-7 from deep), three rebounds, three assists, five fouls, and a steal.
He looked a lot like we expected John Tonje to look: he knocked down his open threes, including this one to take a lead late in the fourth:
But also as expected, ultimately, he didn’t find as much success in the more physical elements of the game as he had in college. At 6-5, Tonje’s age and experience no longer makes it as easy to draw fouls or get to the rim as it did playing for Wisconsin against BYU last year.
He wasn’t played off the floor either in those respects, though, like we see with some older prospects making the jump to the NBA. I also felt he did a good job of playing within himself during the course of the game, and his zero turnovers reflect that.
Overall, I’m curious to see more. We’re not yet sure if Tonje will find a two-way slot with the Jazz, a full roster spot, or if the Jazz will merely maintain his rights. The remaining summer league games (at least two) could go a long way to determining where he ends up.
3. Elijah Harkless drawing moving screens
With Collin Sexton off the Jazz, there is a new leader on the team for most dog — i.e., the player for which you can most often and accurately say “He’s got that dog in him.” That player is Elijah Harkless.
(On the internet, there is significant debate over whether the word should be spelled “dog” or “dawg” in this context. The Associated Press’ style guide has yet to weigh in on the issue. I prefer the plain “dog” because it reads as funnier, in my view.)
I honestly think Elijah Harkless is the best player in basketball at one skill: drawing moving screens. But drawing moving screens is to Harkless as shooting 3-pointers is to Steph Curry.
Today, he was in constant communication with the referees, even during game action, in these situations, yelling “Make sure he’s set!” loud enough to hear from across the court. And sure enough, frequently, screeners are not set in the NBA and summer league alike, and Harkless will fall to take advantage.
Harkless is also adept noting another form of the illegal screen: the too wide of stance foul. Technically, a screener’s stance is supposed to be natural and straight down from the shoulders, but good screeners will frequently set their legs wider to make the screen harder to get around. Harkless, smartly, will intentionally trip over those wide legs in order to win offensive fouls.
Drawing these fouls is super valuable — the same as a drawn charge, and almost as good as a block or a steal. It ends a defensive possession right away, and there might even be knock-on effects for future possessions, as screeners have to stay within the rules. Perhaps future ballhandlers won’t be able to get separation as a result.
Harkless is a battler in other ways, as evidenced by his 16 point, seven rebound performance tonight. But this one in particular stands out, and brings genuine delight every time he’s able to pull yet another whistle. I hope the Jazz keep him around.
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