Jazz Centers Reveal Unexpected Playmaking Wrinkle in Preseason Opener

The Utah Jazz’s first preseason game offered plenty of obvious things to watch.

Darryn Peterson started. Lauri Markkanen scored 17 points in less than 14 minutes. Keyonte George added 15 points on eight shots days after signing his extension.

But one of Utah’s more interesting developments came from two players who combined to score just six points.

Jusuf Nurkić and Jaxson Hayes combined for eight assists in the Jazz’s 109-97 win over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, accounting for nearly 29% of Utah’s 28 total. Nurkić finished with four assists and zero turnovers in 11:26. Hayes added four more in 19:06, along with three blocks.

For a team still figuring out how all of its scorers fit together, that is worth watching.

Utah does not need every possession to begin with Peterson or George if its frontcourt can help organize the offense and keep the ball moving around them.

Will Hardy emphasized sharing the basketball during training camp, and the Jazz carried that over against Denver. Utah recorded 28 assists on 39 made baskets — meaning 71.8% of its field goals were assisted — while committing only 10 turnovers.

The Jazz also scored 109 points despite shooting 41.9% from the field and 33.3% from three.

It was not simply a hot shooting night covering up stagnant offense.

Nurkić operating as a connector is hardly new. He averaged a career-high 4.8 assists last season, giving Utah another way to initiate possessions without forcing everything through one of its guards.

Hayes doing it is more interesting.

Four preseason assists do not suddenly turn him into Nikola Jokić … and nobody should treat them that way. But if Hayes can consistently make the next pass and keep possessions moving rather than becoming an offensive stopping point, his fit becomes much easier to envision.

That could have a ripple effect across Utah’s rotation.

Markkanen is at his best when he can punish defenses away from the ball. George can spend more possessions attacking rather than organizing. Peterson does not need his rookie season to become an endless stream of self-created possessions. Jaren Jackson Jr. can catch the ball against defenses already forced to shift.

One preseason game cannot establish an identity, and Denver was missing Jamal Murray.

But Utah may have shown something that can carry beyond October.

If Nurkić remains a high-post playmaking hub and Hayes can provide even a lighter version behind him, Hardy has another way to keep the offense connected regardless of which guards are on the floor.

The Jazz entered preseason with plenty of questions about how all of their scorers would share the basketball.

Their centers may already be helping answer it.