Utah Jazz · 4 notes
"Oh no, I'm playing." Asked at the Phoenix Suns' Oct. 16 shootaround whether he'd sit, Dillon Brooks said he'd play and named Jaren Jackson as his matchup. The gap before the opener in Portland, he said, is "a good little stretch to... get practice in and get healthy."
Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jaxson Hayes started together for the Utah Jazz, and Will Hardy called the two-big pairing a good sign while lineups are still being worked out: "their size, I think, gives us a little bit of an anchor defensively."
Trevon Brazile knew Spencer Jones not playing meant more minutes, so he studied film with Denver's development staff, then started against Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. Coach David Adelman said he earned it every day, but "I'm going to rotate that spot."
Utah Jazz coach Will Hardy called the Jaren Jackson Jr.–Lauri Markkanen frontcourt a matchup problem because of their physicality, but warned it won't always look smooth: "It's going to be a work in progress... There will be games where it can feel a little bit clunky."