Jazz win third preseason game, but Keyonte George's knee injury threatens team

DALLAS – The Utah Jazz are off to a 3-0 start to the preseason.

A 107-102 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night showcased extreme highs and lows for a developmental team that had two first-round picks in the most recent draft.

Utah, which led by as many as 20 points in the third quarter, held on late in the fourth quarter and defeated the Luka Doncic-less Mavericks.

Lauri Markkanen remained the $238 million player the Jazz signed him for in the offseason, despite rumors that he might be traded. He had 26 points on 47% shooting in 29 minutes for the Jazz to go along with seven boards.

But in the first half it was the Keyonte George show.

The Baylor sophomore was lethal from deep, hitting 4 of 5 shots from long range – including a 3-pointer over Mavericks big man Derick Lively. George scored 14 points and three rebounds.

But for George it was almost a disastrous night.

After attempting to move the ball up the pitch, George made a cross-over move to shake off his defender, but slipped and grabbed his left leg.

What initially started with George grabbing his ankle immediately covered his face and pointed at his left knee. George was almost carried off the floor by Jazz staff and taken to the locker room where he did not return.

Utah Jazz point guard Keyonte George is helped to the locker room after slipping on his right foot following a crossover attempt. #Mavs#MFFL#NBAPreseasonpic.twitter.com/7Nue29lpZp

—Dorothy J. Gentry (@DorothyJGentry) October 11, 2024

The Jazz announced shortly afterward that George had been diagnosed with a mild left knee sprain, but further testing is expected to be performed to determine the severity of the injury.

The 2024 second-team All-Rookie selection scored 13 points per game for Utah last season and found his way into the starting lineup, starting 44 of 75 total games for the Jazz last season.

A long-term injury to George could put pressure on the Jazz, who are already thin at the point guard position.

After Kris Dunn found his way to the LA Clippers, the Jazz brought in coveted veteran Patty Mills and selected Isaiah Collier from USC in the draft. The guard after Mills and Collier would be Jason Preston, who appeared in seven games for the Jazz last year and scored 1.7 points per game.

Despite George's injury, there were positives from Collier, who scored three points but led the team with seven assists in 23 minutes of play, the most assists of any substitute.

“Isaiah has shown us throughout camp and during these preseason games that his decision-making ability probably extends beyond his age,” head coach Will Hardy said of Collier. “It’s not just the passes when he’s on the sidelines that are impressive, but also the ones he takes downhill and puts back down again.”

In the Jazz's win over the New Zealand Breakers last week, Collier had six assists and three steals, followed by another three-steal performance against Houston.

Another bright spot this preseason was Walker Kessler, who hit something of a slump as a sophomore, nearly regressing in every statistical category since his freshman year. Against the Mavericks, Kessler scored 9 points and 15 rebounds in just 24 minutes of play, impacting both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.

“Kessler has done an incredible amount of work in the offseason, not only on his game but also on his body,” Hardy said. “He’s a lot stronger and you can see that in the way he grabs rebounds in traffic. His physicality on the edge was really helpful for us and he understood what he needed to do to improve after two seasons.”

Kessler also recorded two blocks in the win, one of which came on a dunk attempt by 7-foot-5 center Jamarion Sharp in the fourth quarter.

would never turn down a good block party ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ pic.twitter.com/4kMYUcIBZs

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 11, 2024