Utah Jazz finish Las Vegas Summer League with a win over the Denver Nuggets

The Utah Jazz finished Las Vegas Summer League with a win against the Denver Nuggets. It was a solid victory for a Jazz team that has improved throughout summer league. Tonight, we saw the Jazz playing their best summer league players and it was a bit of a microcosm of what happened with each player this summer league. Let’s take a look at what we’ve learned with three of the Jazz’s core summer league players.

Jared Butler

This game was a perfect example of Butler’s summer league. Butler ran the offense well by reading the defense and setting up his teammates with impressive passes. In this game, Butler had 6 assists and was a +14. Like he has all summer league, Butler struggled with his shot shooting 20% from three and 35% from the field. Butler shows flashes of a really nice offensive game, but for whatever reason, he hasn’t been able to polish his game into well-rounded efficiency. For example, multiple times this game Butler would get by his man with a nice first step but couldn’t finish at the rim. Other times Butler would miss three-point shots, and would look timid the next time he’d have a potential shot. The next step for Butler on offense will be his ability to find his efficiency within Will Hardy’s offense. It makes this a vital season for Butler because if he can’t find that ability to score, the league may pass him by.

Leandro Bolmaro

Bolmaro did a lot in this game like he’s done all summer league. He’s a nice passer and a long defender. Bolmaro had 3 steals in this one, and they were steals he manufactured with his length and athleticism. Bolmaro is also one of those players that knows how to be a part of an offense and defense, he’s a really high IQ player. The problem with Bolmaro is that he’s not an efficient scorer, like at all. Tonight, Bolmaro shot 27% from the field and 16% from three. That type of poor shooting just won’t last in the league. He has a long way to go before he can be trusted with the ball in the regular season. Let’s hope that Bolmaro can improve because the idea of Bomaro might be better than what he actually is.

Johnny Juzang

After all was said and done, Juzang might have the most potential of this entire Jazz summer league squad. Juzang has shown an ability to shoot the ball with a nice stroke, especially from the corner. Tonight he was just 22% from three, but there’s definitely something there with Juzang’s versatility, size and shooting. Juzang will most likely spend a lot of time with the Salt Lake City Stars and it will be great for his growth. If Juzang can become a 36%+ shooter from three, he can be a very versatile role-player in the league. From the moment I saw first saw his film he’s reminded me of Georges Niang. Can Juzang follow the same path Niang did by improving his gamein the G-League? If he can, he’ll find himself a nice NBA career and earn multiple contracts. If he can become a plus defender, he might do even more.

After a long summer league, these three players have a chance to really grow and impact this season for the Jazz, it’s up to them to improve their respective games. It’ll be fun this season to see if they’re able to. If they don’t, we’ll have more players coming into the league next year. It’s a cold reality of the NBA, get better or get replaced.