Collin Sexton Freezes LeBron James With Fake Pass For Open Layup
Dec 1, 2024, 7:17 PM | Updated: Dec 2, 2024, 2:28 pm
SALT LAKE CITY- Collin Sexton and the Utah Jazz are in the middle of a back-and-forth battle with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on the second night of a back-to-back.
Even with the imposing presence of the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, Colling Sexton showed no fear as he froze LeBron James on his way to the basket.
Collin Sexton started the sequence with a steal on the defensive end, snatching the ball out of Gabe Vincent’s hands. The young bull then showed off his speed, leaving four Lakers behind him. Collin ran alongside Lauri Markkanen with only LeBron James impeding his path to the basket. As Sexton entered the lane, he cradled the ball behind his back as if he was going to pass it to Markkanen, but yanked it back at the last second, stopping LeBron in his tracks and giving Sexton a wide-open lefty layup.
At the time, the basket gave the Jazz a six-point lead over the Lakers.
PLS ENJOY THIS REPLAY ANGLE 😈 https://t.co/kXvFjQq4uC pic.twitter.com/P6hPASB6u0
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 2, 2024
For Jazz, Is Size Always An Advantage?
Whether it was Taylor Hendricks (6-foot-9) who is lost of the season, Kyle Filipowski (6-foot-11) who is working his way back from leg inflammation, or John Collins (6-foot-9) who has assumed the role with the younger players injured, the Jazz have one of the bigger frontcourts in the NBA.
When paired with Markkanen and Kessler, both seven-footers, it’s not unusual for the Jazz starters to tower over the opposition.
But is that an advantage?
“The advantage, in theory, is rebounding as well as rim protection,” Hardy said.
Through the first 17 games of the season, the rebounding advantage has been clear.
The Jazz own the sixth-best rebounding percentage in the NBA at 51.4 percent, aided largely by their 12.1 offensive rebounds per game.
The rim protection remains a work in progress.
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Entering Saturday’s game, opposing teams were shooting 65.8 percent against the Jazz inside of six feet, the eighth-worst in the NBA. (That number is affected by the Jazz allowing the most fastbreak points.)
The added size in the frontcourt can also make the Jazz more susceptible to teams that space the floor with their big men.
“Sometimes teams can spread you out a lot, and it feels bad when they start making a bunch of threes,” Hardy added.
The Mavericks frontcourt featuring PJ Washington and Naji Marshall shot a combined 3-8 against the Jazz.
Offensively, the Jazz are also limited in ballhandling with three bigs on the floor.
Rather than having a playmaking forward on the court, the Jazz are more dependent on Keyonte George and Collin Sexton to initiate the offense.
“John’s a good ball handler at his position, I think Kyle is as well, but there’s a give and take with all the lineup decisions,” Hardy said.
Those sacrifices may provide an opportunity for Cody Williams to work his way back into the team’s starting lineup as he develops as a defender and ballhandler.
The Jazz rookie is currently playing with the Salt Lake City Stars in the G League after spending the first 16 games of the season with the primary roster.
Williams had 18 points on 6-18 shooting in his debut with the Stars on Friday night.
