Isaiah Collier Just Showed the Utah Jazz the Skill That Could Change His Role

Isaiah Collier did not need one preseason game to prove he can run an NBA offense. The Utah Jazz already have enough evidence of that.

What they still need to learn is how useful Collier can be when somebody else is running it … and two shots Sunday offered an encouraging first answer.

Collier finished Utah's 109-97 preseason win over the Denver Nuggets with nine points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals in just under 15 minutes. He made three of his four shots from the field and, more importantly, knocked down two of his three attempts from beyond the arc.

Three attempts in an October preseason game are not enough to declare anything fixed. But for Collier, they mattered.

Shooting remains the swing skill in his game.

Collier entered this season as a 25.7% career 3-point shooter through his first two NBA seasons. He shot 27.0% from deep last season, even as the rest of his offensive game continued to grow.

His ability with the ball is much easier to trust. Collier averaged 7.2 assists last season and produced a 22-assist game against the Indiana Pacers in February — becoming the youngest player in NBA history to record at least 20 assists in a game.

Utah's backcourt looks different now.

Darryn Peterson is in the picture alongside Keyonte George, and both started Sunday's preseason opener. Collier came off the bench, giving Will Hardy another primary ball-handler to work with … but also creating a tougher path to minutes if Collier is at his best only when the offense runs through him.

That is what makes the jumper so important.

If defenders have to respect Collier away from the ball, Hardy suddenly has more combinations available. Collier can play next to George. He can share the floor with Peterson. Utah can keep another passer and downhill threat on the court without giving up as much spacing.

Sunday did not prove Collier has become a dependable shooter. Two made threes should not outweigh two full NBA seasons, and he has flashed encouraging stretches before.

But this is exactly the kind of development Utah needed to see.

Collier already has the passing, strength and ability to get downhill. If the jumper starts forcing defenses to treat him differently … his role becomes much easier to expand.

Though it was only one preseason game, for Collier, those two threes may have mattered more than anything else he did.