Utah Jazz: Johnny Juzang > Kyle Korver
The Jazz continue to struggle at an unrecognizable pace.
After dropping their 12th straight game in Golden State last night, 118-110, the Jazz are 4 games from a merciful ending to the season.
Once 26-26 on the year, the Jazz have unfolded like a paper tiger with a record of 29-49 on the season.
As the losses mount, Jazz fans will tell you its not about the wins and losses, but moreso about the development of the youth.
Keyonte George, Taylor Hendricks and so on provide the only sustenance for Jazz fans to consume when watching a game.
Last nights scheduled loss was another example of a team defeat but a solid individual performance from a young player.
It wasn’t Hendricks, Sensabaugh, or George with the highest scoring mark, but rather Johnny Juzang who poured in a career high 27 points on 9/12 shooting.
The former UCLA guard went 7/8 from downtown in a career high 33 minutes.
Juzang is in his 2nd year in the association, both spent with Utah, as an undrafted free agent who has been on consecutive two-way contracts.
This is Johnny’s 16th appearance of the season and his 34th in a Jazz uniform as the majority of his career has been spent with the Salt Lake City Stars where he was putting up 19.3 PPG on 43.7 percent shooting and 32 percent from deep.
Last night was a step in the right direction in determining whether or not Juzang could deliver at the highest level consistently, and a unique sight for Jazz fans who are hoping to see any sign of positivity.
Whether Juzang ever replicates this type of performance again is to be determined, but his mark will always stand in the Utah Jazz history books.
In a desperate attempt to have fun with this season, please enjoy this list of players that Johnny Juzang has outscored in a single regular season game while wearing a Jazz uniform;
(To clarify, this list is notable guards who, during their time in Utah, never scored as much as Johnny Juzang did last night)
(The Players career high with the Jazz will be posted next to their name, VIA StatMuse)
BRYON RUSSELL: 25 points VS Minnesota in 2002.
RONNIE BREWER: 26 points VS Sacramento in 2009.
RAJA BELL: 26 points AT LOS ANGELES LAKERS IN 2004
KRIS DUNN: 26 points AT LOS ANGELES LAKERS IN 2023.
HOWARD EISLEY: 23 Points AT PHOENIX IN 2005.
DANTE EXUM: 22 Points AT OKLAHOMA CITY in 2017.
DEREK FISHER: 23 Points VS LOS ANGELES LAKERS IN 2007.
KYLE KORVER: 27 Points AT DENVER IN 2008. (Yes, I know, technically this is a tie with Juzang, but still worth noting.)
EARL WATSON: 14 Points VS NEW ORLEANS IN 2011.
JAMAAL TINSLEY: 15 points VS DENVER in 2012.
RAUL NETO: 22 Points AT BROOKLYN IN 2017.
RONNIE PRICE: 16 POINTS VS MILWAUKEE IN 2008.
If you didn’t know what to talk about pertaining to the Jazz prior to this article, I hope this helps carry a conversation about one of the hardest teams to watch in all of basketball right now.