Utah Jazz Kenneth Lofton Jr., left, blocks the shot of Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet during the second half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 11, 2024, in Salt Lake City.
They’re getting two fewer deflections per game, recovering 1.5 fewer loose balls, and contesting a whopping nine fewer shots per game. Yikes! Add that to tumbling rebound stats and simple invisibility in transition defense, and you have a heck of a lot of evidence that the Jazz are just trying less hard than they used to.
“I think people that have unsettled contracts in general in this league are very desperate,” Jazz head coach Will Hardy said. “That group at the end, the way that they approached it, is how I want every player on the roster to play.” Anyway, whatever you call him, that guy rules. In his second season in the league, Lofton is still just 21. He’s a large human, at 6-7 and 275 pounds, making him a different shape than everyone in the NBA. He has an insane game that is predicated on terrific paint play in a very old school way — a lot of post-ups and then a lot of creating and scoring out of it. His nickname is Gen Z-Bo, referencing old Grizzlies star Zach Randolph, and that’s about right.
Obviously, the question with anyone that big is going to be defense. He’s just a tweener right now — too big to guard the perimeter, too small to protect the rim. He has good ball skills, though, with a surprising number of steals and blocks. First came as I entered the arena’s bowl, just as Johnny Juzang made a three to turn the score 5-5. And after a 13-game losing streak, and with one of the Jazz’s two-way players making an early-game three, I was already presented with this incredible wall of sound walking in.