Cody Williams
It has been a bit of a weird season for the Utah Jazz. As soon as Walker Kessler suffered a season-ending injury in the first week, it was always going to make things interesting.
Veteran offseason trade addition Jusuf Nurkic was about to go from DNP-CD’s last season in two places, to becoming the starting center. The team drafted Ace Bailey in the lottery, so there was going to be the implementation period for him.
Lauri Markkanen was rumored to be a trade candidate, noise that was hard to ignore. But, none of that is why we’re here today.
Utah had the weirdest week we may have ever seen in the NBA. On Wednesday, they they took the league-leading Oklahoma City Thunder to overtime. They fell just a bit short, but showed that they still have plenty of fight.
The very next day, on the tail end of a back-to-back, they managed a win against the Dallas Mavericks. A 116-114 final, they showed that they are as competitive as any other team in this league.
And then, there is what happened on Saturday night against the Hornets. It heavily involves Cody Williams.
Cody Williams Had The Worst Box Score In NBA History
The Utah Jazz played host to the Hornets last night. A team that lost to the 6-31 Pacers earlier in the week, Charlotte has been a little up-and-down. But, few could have predicted what would happen in this one.
With Lauri Markkanen and Jusuf Nurkic out, Utah was leaning heavily on their reserves to fill in. And it just did not go well. At all.
Charlotte put up a whopping 150 points, holding the Jazz to just 95. The 55-point win the 24th-largest victory in the history of the league.
Not only that, but Cody Williams was a -60 in the contest. A battle where the team lost by 55, and still managed to outscore to outscore the opposition while he was off the floor.
That net rating is the lowest in the history of the league in any game.
Williams has struggled to adjust to the NBA game, not quite reaching the level early in his career than his brother Jalen Williams has been at in OKC.
It’s unfortunate to have a game as such, especially when this is a player just trying to find his spot on a rebuilding team.
The thing about Cody Williams is, he’s still playing at a very high level when he’s in the G-League. In two appearances for the Salt Lake City Stars, he has averaged 28.5 points per game.
Williams still has time to prove his case as a legitimate player in the big leagues, as he’s proven in the G that he can play high-level basketball.
Next Steps for Cody Williams and the Utah Jazz
On days when Lauri Markkanen rests, the offense seems to struggle more, and things just haven’t been working out. They are 0-6 when he sits, with three of those defeats coming by double-digits.
Walker Kessler isn’t coming back until next year, and the defense at large seems to be failing to get stops all over. They do at least have Keyonte George, who has put up an incredible offensive showcase all season.
Players like Cody Williams and Taylor Hendricks are continuing to try to prove why they were lottery picks. But, it hasn’t been great. This is a team likely to move some veterans at the trade deadline.
A high draft pick seems to remain the priority, so whatever the future holds here, it can only be told by time.
Hopefully, a Jazz player doesn’t have a -60 net rating again any time soon.