The Utah Jazz have played 66 games of the 2024–25 regular season. On Wednesday night, for just the 16th time this season, Lauri Markkanen, John Collins, Collin Sexton, Walker Kessler and Jordan Clarkson were all in uniform and available to play together.
Out of the ordinary, or at least what has become the ordinary for the Jazz this season, there were only two fully rostered players on team’s injury report: Taylor Hendricks, who is out for the season; and Keyonte George, who is nursing a foot injury.
Perhaps coincidentally and perhaps not, the nearly clear injury report came on a day when the NBA handed down a $100,000 fine to the Jazz for violating the league’s player participation policy after holding Markkanen out for an extended period.
So the almost fully healthy Jazz squad suited up (all wearing matching headbands, save Collin Sexton, who would have a hard time wrapping a headband around his hair) to take on the Western Conference’s No. 4 Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum.
A quick side note on the headbands. Jazz sideline reporter Lauren Green reported that the headbands started out with Isaiah Collier putting one on and then another player and another and it snowballed. Even if that’s the real and only reason that all of the Jazz players were wearing them (including George, despite being in street clothes), it goes to show that despite the losing season, the spirits are still high with the Jazz players. The vibes are great.
Although the final result was a 122–115 Grizzlies win, it was one of the most exciting Jazz games in recent memory. The Jazz found themselves down by as many as 19 points, but stormed back in the second half and even momentarily retook the lead in the fourth quarter.
There were a number of wide open shots that the Jazz missed and a heavy number of turnovers, but it’s hard to get mad at rusty play when four of the Jazz starters and five of their six top scorers are players that were only playing together for the 16th time in this long season. Oh, and it was Markkanen’s first game back after not having played in the previous nine games.
We could talk about the rough shooting night, or the 12 turnovers committed by Isaiah Collier and Clarkson alone, and we could talk about how the Jazz weren’t able to close out a game with a full compliment of their best players.
But, it was fun basketball. It was fun to watch the Jazz fight back for a third straight game, it was fun to watch these guys all play together again, it was fun to see the young players mixed in with the veterans rather than left on an island struggling by themselves, and in the end, the Jazz won when it comes to the great tank as well.
The monotony of a team made up mostly of first and second year players who are expected to lose every night can take a toll, not just on the fans, but also on beat writers. As much as I love writing stories about developing players and the future of the team and the thinking behind strategic decisions, I also love watching fun basketball.
So, for at least tonight, the Jazz were having fun, they were happy to all be on the court together, and even though it didn’t end with a win, it feels like it was an emotional win and a win for the morale of the team.