Utah Jazz vs Indiana Pacers recap: Jazz fall short in Keyonte George starting debut

The Indiana Pacers spoiled the debut of Keyonte George at point guard for the Utah Jazz 134-118, but Jazz fans should be happy with George’s performance. On a night when he likely had butterflies with his first start, George looked good getting the ball to his teammates.

For the night, George had 7 points, 9 assists, and 2 rebounds, but the most impressive stat is probably the 2 turnovers. The Jazz haven’t seen an assist-to-turnover ratio that good all season, and it’s got to be exciting to see the potential there. The shooting wasn’t perfect, just 3/8, but there were flashes there too. Near the end, George started driving to the basket and was getting there at will. It’s another element of his game that’s going to continue to grow as he develops into the future guard for this team.

Lauri Markkanen continues to have a fantastic season. Tonight was no exception as he had to play more power forward/center with Walker Kessler out. Tonight he scored 24 points on 8/16 shooting from the field and 3/5 from three. He continues to be a monster scoring the ball and it should only continue now that they’re getting better point guard play from Keyonte George.

It also needs to be mentioned that Walker Kessler was out, and the Jazz offense seemed to flow better. It doesn’t mean that was the cause, but it is something to watch. It could have also simply been that Keyonte George was on the floor, and the Jazz were able to run multiple actions for the first time, it seems, all season. It’s just something to watch, hopefully, Kessler comes back healthy and ready to go in two weeks.