Utah Jazz’s shorthanded 7-man roster beats Indiana Pacers

There are always strange NBA games around the trade deadline. As players move through the league from one team to another, it makes for some weird lineups and shorthanded nights.

The Utah Jazz played with seven players on Tuesday night, beating the Indiana Pacers, 131-122.

The roster was depleted in part because of some illness or injury, but mostly because the Jazz agreed to terms earlier in the day on a trade that will send four players to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for a package headlined by Jaren Jackson Jr.

With Taylor Hendricks, Walter Clayton Jr. and Kyle Anderson (as well as the injured Georges Niang) on their way to Memphis, Keyonte George sidelined with a left ankle sprain, Kevin Love sick, Jusuf Nurkic a healthy scratch for rest and all of their two-way players with the SLC Stars, the Jazz didn’t have a lot of wiggle room with the active roster in Indiana.

Early on in the night, Jazz head coach Will Hardy decided that Isaiah Collier was going to carry quite a heavy load, playing the full 48 minutes of the game.

“I alerted (him) in the first half that it was my plan after he had one sort of senseless foul,” Hardy said. “I was like, ‘Hey man, if you keep doing that, we’re going to ruin this part of the plan.’ … Tonight we had to do what we had to do to get through the game.”

Ace Bailey and Cody Williams also logged 40 minutes each, and all seven players who played scored in double-digits with Lauri Markkanen leading the way with 27 points. But, in order for seven players to end up with the opportunities that would lead to them all scoring in double figures, it required a point guard who was dialed in.

That is a bit of an understatement for Collier, who finished the night with a staggering 22 assists and just two turnovers to go with his own 17 points.

“Zay picked his spots, it wasn’t all one thing,” Hardy said in praise of Collier. “His transition stuff has always been really high-level. But then the half court — some drive-and-kick, he found Flip in the pocket a bunch, hit Lauri in the pocket, read sprint slips very well. … Overall, he showed a lot of poise and maturity as a point guard.”

The Jazz, currently on a five-game road trip, will continue with games in Atlanta, Orlando and Miami before returning to Utah. At some point, the newly acquired Jackson along with the three other players in the trade (John Konchar, Jock Landale and Vince Williams Jr.) will join the team.

With impending physicals for players following the trades and travel necessary, it’s not yet clear when the Jazz’s shorthanded roster will be getting some help — but it is clear that help is on the way.

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