seattlejazzfan
Well-Known Member
yeah, i think with this group the jazz can start winning any time they want. but they do need another star player to eventually compete for a title 4 or 5 years down the road.
Game Thread Jan 22, 2026 07:00PM MT: San Antonio Spurs @ Utah Jazz
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Added to Calendar: 01-22-26
Ace should definitely not be coming off the bench. Ace/Cody should be the wing starters for the rest of the season tbh.
Key
Cody
Ace
Lauri
Nurk
That should be our full health lineup (sans Walker)
Key
Cody
Ace
Lauri
Nurk
That should be our full health lineup (sans Walker)
Ace is eventually going to have to play with Lauri, so I agree with keeping him a starter and playing him in those minutes. He just needs a touch of different responsibilities when he is sharing the court with Lauri. We should start playing Ace more like the way we envision him long term. Small doses is fine.
He's playing exactly like his long term projection. He's going to be an offball star.
I mean if Ace ever comes into a season showing some greatly improved handles he can expand his game, but I see no reason to try and force that upon him when he clearly isn't ready for it. There's a plethora of nuance and skills to learn in the lane he's best suited for.
I think there's a world where Ace doesn't develop much and is a below usage player with very few offensive touches like Jabari Smith....might even be the most likely scenario. But I think it's kind of crazy to limit him when he's 19 years old.
And surely there are more ways to get involved even without the ball. If we had prime Klay and prime Lauri on the same roster, I'm sure Hardy would find a way to get the both involved a ton without necessarily putting the ball in their hands. There's room for Ace to be more than a 16.7% usg player when he shares the court with Lauri.
I mean you can be an offball player who does more than Jabari Smith Jr. It also doesn't mean you never get to do anything with the ball.
Hardy is a genius at using players off ball. It's not just going to be standing in the corner.
See post above. I don't think changing his responsibilities necessarily means you have to put him in a heavy ball handling situation. If you're saying his role is the exact same, he can only be a 16.7% usage player with Lauri because that's what his current role is.
If Ace didn't have a historically bad FTR his usage wouldn't be so low. Usage isn't a perfect star for involvement in an offense
I don't really see how that follows. He needs to increase his FTr in any role, but you can increase his role regardless. And according to you he is playing the exact role so even if he did increase his FTr he cannot have any other responsibility.