Jazz Roll Out Experimental Starting Lineup Against Trail Blazers
Lineup alert: Jazz will start George, Peterson, Bailey, Markkanen, Hayes on Saturday.
The Utah Jazz are rolling out a starting five on Saturday that sounds like a randomly generated NBA 2K Summer League roster, but it is very real. Keyonte George, Tristan Peterson, Amari Bailey, Lauri Markkanen, and Jaxson Hayes are getting the nod against the Portland Trail Blazers.
If you are holding tickets on Jazz player props, this is the kind of lineup that makes you sweat. Markkanen and George are going to have to carry an absurd amount of the offensive load, which means their usage rates are about to look like prime James Harden.
The Jazz are desperate for a spark after dropping three straight games, including a 117-111 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday. Utah also dropped recent matchups to the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies, leaving the coaching staff searching for answers.
George is fully healthy and looking to recapture the magic of his 43-point explosion from earlier this calendar year. Markkanen remains the undisputed focal point of the offense, but the supporting cast is where things get weird.
Throwing Peterson and Bailey into the starting mix alongside Hayes at center is a wild roll of the dice. It is the basketball equivalent of emptying your fridge into a single pan and hoping it makes a decent stir-fry.
Utah hosts Portland on Saturday night before heading back to San Antonio on Tuesday. We will see if this experimental five-man unit can actually stop the bleeding, or if the Jazz will be shuffling the deck again by Monday morning.