Jazz fan survey reveals who they want to start | Utah Jazz Reacts

In this week’s Utah Jazz Reacts survey, I asked Jazz fans who they would prefer starting: Ace Bailey or Jaxson Hayes. That assumes Keyonte George, Darryn Peterson, Lauri Markkanen, and Jaren Jackson Jr. are locked into the starting unit. Here’s what Jazz fans said:

It’s pretty clear that a majority of Jazz fans want to see Ace Bailey starting over Jaxson Hayes. Obviously, this changes the starting lineup dynamics, but from what we’ve seen in Preseason, it is probably a better dynamic with Bailey starting.

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So what are those dynamics? Well, the philosophy of starting a big next to Jaren Jackson Jr. is that it will help with his lack of rebounding and his high foul rate. It should also help defensively by adding size. At least that’s what I assume after listening to Will Hardy’s latest comments about what Tony Bradley brings to the table (“a lot of size”).

My only issue with that is that we’ve seen Jaren Jackson in foul trouble all preseason while playing next to Jaxson Hayes. On top of that, the Jazz also lost the rebounding battle in their latest preseason game against the Suns, where both teams played their main rotations through three quarters, one of the longest stretches of the season.

We’ve also seen what looks like a leap from Ace Bailey. He’s shooting 45% from the field, but that would be higher if he wasn’t shooting just 27% from three, something we know should improve. But it’s far from just the shooting that Bailey brings. Bailey is playing 23 minutes per game at the 3 and averaging 5.3 rebounds per game. He’s also averaging 1.5 assists, 1.8 steals, and 9.5 points, with a 14.1 net rating, the clear best among the Jazz’s main rotation players. The next closest are Svi Mykhailiuk at 9.8, Lauri Markkanen at 5.2, and Keyonte George at 1.5.

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Something is working!

At this point, Utah hasn’t seen a center like Hayes play next to Jaren Jackson Jr. and either improve his deficiencies or help the team win more. So it’s time to run Ace Bailey at the three and let Hayes come off the bench if Jaren Jackson gets into foul trouble, which he likely will.

You can always adjust again if you need to,…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/jazz-fan-survey-reveals-want-211857153.html

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Publish date : 2026-10-18 21:18:00

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