Coming into the season, Jazz fans were excited to see the development of Cody Williams as what Isaiah Collier would look like as a lead ball handler. With 10 games left this season, the player looking the best of all three is Kyle Filipowski.
Filipowski is shooting the ball at an incredible level for the Utah Jazz. Filipowski is shooting 51.7% from the field and 39% from three for the season. Recently, Filipowski has been given more starter minutes and opportunities. In the last 20 games (since Feb 8), Filipowski has been shooting 54.7% from the field and 46.4% from three on 4 attempts per game. What’s impressive is that those numbers include 8 starts in 22 minutes played. And he’s not just shooting it, he’s averaging 2.2 assists and 6.5 rebounds in that span.
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Most people who cover the NBA don’t always like per 36, and rightfully so. Putting up numbers in garbage time is not the same as real NBA minutes. But we’re seeing Filipowski put up great numbers as a starter and consistently performed across multiple scenarios. Per 36, Filipowski is averaging 16 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists. He looks like an absolute monster, and that’s just the entire season.
We’re also finding out that Filipowski is looking like a versatile player. He has been playing recently next to Walker Kessler and proving that he can be 4 in the league. It’s that versatility that’s going to make Filipowski an important part of the future for the Utah Jazz. If he puts up just what he’s doing, the Jazz will have a very nice rotation player for the future. If he improves and proves to be a solid defender, he will make a trade for Lauri Markkanen seem like a no-brainer.
And that’s the other thing to consider. We’ve heard from multiple places that the Jazz don’t want to have too many young players with their picks. Well, I’m sure glad the Jazz made a pick in the second round and took Filipowski. He’s turning out to be the best player of the Jazz’s rookie class. It’s important right now the Jazz draft as many players as possible. They are building their team through the draft and if players pan out, great, if not you move on. The worst thing you can do is not be drafting as much as possible. That is why a Markkanen trade is a big deal. You never know when one of these picks will hit the top of the draft, something Utah needs desperately.