Utah Jazz lose to Phoenix Suns, as guard play and defense continue to disappoint

Early in the season, the Utah Jazz’s flaws have been laid bare for all to see. The two main ones: woeful guard play and unacceptably poor defense.

Just as they did against the Sacramento Kings, those two ugly warts pushed the Jazz to an early deficit that they weren’t able to come back from in any way, shape, or form, losing 126-104 on Saturday night in Phoenix.

On paper, it looked like a game the Jazz should have been able to compete in: Star guards Devin Booker and Bradley Beal sat due to injury for the Suns, while the Jazz were healthy. Furthermore, Friday night’s scintillating win against the Clippers seemed to show that this team could fight, and come on top of, Western Conference depth and experience. Even in the second night of a back to back, this early in the season, the Jazz should have had sufficient legs. They didn’t.

Worse, head coach Will Hardy said, was the other body parts that weren’t strong enough on the night.

”I’m the last person that will ever make an excuse for our team because I’m as competitive as anybody. And the standard will never change. It doesn’t matter what night we’re playing on,” Hardy said afterward. “But I think there were moments where our bodies were moving a little slow and we weren’t able to make up for that because we did not do a good enough job with our brains, and our mouths, communicating.

Star forward Lauri Markkanen was the team’s leading scorer with 19 points on 7-13 shooting, while newcomer John Collins looked decent enough by adding 11 points and 10 rebounds. Everyone else on this night, though? There was so much to be desired.

The guards, again, were more negative than positive. Starter Talen Horton-Tucker scored just four points and added one assist; he didn’t see the court again after a flagrant foul on the Suns’ Grayson Allen in transition. Jordan Clarkson wasn’t able to match Friday night’s heroics — on Saturday, he scored just seven and added five turnovers to boot. Collin Sexton, while he scored 14 points and added six assists, found himself frequently on the wrong page with teammates on both ends of the floor.

Meanwhile, rookie Keyonte George was the brightest spot, earning his longest on-court stint of the season with excellent point guard play — until he, too, got tired. Still, George increasingly looks like he belongs as a major player on this roster, if not an every-night starter, just three games into his career.

“I think his decision making continues to be good. I thought the shots that he took were the right decisions. I thought he made a lot of really good passes,” Hardy said. “In the second half, he was very fatigued. But in that moment, we understood that, but it was about trying to push through it and not bailing him out. Because he Keyonte’s a tough kid and he’s doing a really, really good job.”

Kevin Durant led the Suns with 26 easy points on just 11 shots from the floor; Eric Gordon scored 21 on 9-14 shooting.

Second-year player Walker Kessler continued his very slow start to the season, scoring just two points and gathering just five rebounds, adding three turnovers during the game. Fan favorite Kris Dunn, who looked so sharp in the preseason and at the end of the season, continued to look poor in regular season play: he had just four points.

“Right now it’s just not my time. So you’ve just got to keep putting in work and stay positive,” Dunn said.

However, the schedule doesn’t get easier for the Jazz — they play the defending champion Nuggets on Monday on their home floor.