Has Keyonte George Turned The Corner After Slow Start?
Nov 15, 2024, 3:25 PM | Updated: 3:34 pm
Keyonte George #3 of the Utah Jazz shoots over Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
(Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – It would be an understatement to say that Keyonte George had a less-than-ideal start to his sophomore season.
The guard opened the year on a cold shooting streak connecting on just 28 percent of his field goal attempts, including 20 percent of his threes over his first five appearances.
It was a troubling trend for George whose second-year success hinged partially on his ability to improve his rookie shooting numbers.
Keyonte George’s 16-61 shooting is tied for the lowest FG% (.262) by a player in NBA history over four games to begin a season (minimum 60 FGAs).
Jim Jackson was also .262 on 17-65 shooting in 2000 for the Atlanta Hawks.
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) October 30, 2024
After all, George shot just 39 percent from the floor and 33 percent from three, despite playing the second-most minutes of any Jazz player last season.
Now, having doubled his early season sample size, there have been promising signs in his development.
Related: Keyonte George Offers Thoughts On Slow Start
Keyonte George Finding More Success As A Shooter
The first sign of George’s breakout came against the Denver Nuggets on November 2 when the guard scored 16 points, including a season-high four made three-pointers on 11 attempts.
Lost in his more prolific shooting, however, was how well he took care of the ball.
After committing 11 combined turnovers in his two previous outings, Geroge had just two giveaways in Denver against eight assists.
He followed it up with an improved nine assist, two turnover game in Chicago coinciding with a season-high 33 points on six made threes.
Tied his career-high and dropped 30+ for just the fourth time in his career 🔑#PerformanceLeader presented by @uofuhealth pic.twitter.com/MXDhSUWsoi
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) November 5, 2024
George suffered a foot injury and struggled statistically in the Jazz’s loss in Milwaukee. The sophomore finished the game with 10 points, three assists and two turnovers in 25 minutes while shooting 3-11 from the floor, including 3-7 from downtown.
The 20-year-old missed the following game in San Antonio, before returning with another difficult nine-point, four assists, one turnover outing on 4-12 shooting against the Phoenix Suns.
Despite showing signs that he may again be in a tailspin, George bounced back with a 14 point, six assist, three turnover game against the Dallas Mavericks in which he shot a season-high 50 percent from the floor and 57 percent from three.
Related: John Collins Lifts Jazz past Mavericks
During the five-game stretch, George is averaging 16.4 points, 6.0 assists, and 2.0 turnovers while shooting 40 percent from the floor and 43 percent from the free-throw line in 32 minutes a night.
What To Make Of George’s Upswing?
While George’s recent five-game stretch is far from a promise of what to expect for the rest of the season, it’s a sign that his first five games were more likely an outlier than they were an indicator of a lack of growth in year two.
After averaging 1.6 made threes per game over his first five appearances, George has made three or more deep balls in four of his last five games.
He’s also protecting the ball at a superior rate, committing more than two turnovers only once after averaging four giveaways per game in his first five outings.
sometimes you gotta take the scenic route to get where you’re going ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ pic.twitter.com/zLnx6nZYxS
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) November 15, 2024
Even with his recent improvement, the sophomore guard has plenty of room for growth.
Excluding his 11 made free-throws in Chicago, George is just 1-3 total from the charity stripe in his other four appearances.
He’s also been heavily dependent on his three-point shot with 64 percent of his field goal attempts, and 72 percent of his made shots overall coming from beyond the arc.
The high dependency on threes while rarely getting to the free-throw line leaves George with very little room for error as a scoring threat if he hits another cold streak.
Overall, George’s shooting numbers are still down from last season and may be difficult to fully resuscitate after his historically slow start to the year.
But, even while battling through a minor injury, the guard has played much better over his last five outings, which should allow Jazz fans to breathe a sigh of relief.
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Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops or on Instagram @BensHoops.
