Jazz Mailbag: Will Kyle Filipowski Be In The Opening Night Rotation?

SALT LAKE CITY – Welcome to the Utah Jazz mailbag where this week we look at whether Kyle Filipowski can crack the team’s rotation.

Each week we will send out a prompt on X asking for the questions you have about the Jazz.

Then, we’ll respond to as many as we can in that week’s mailbag.

Mailbag: Can Kyle Filipowski Crack Jazz Rotation?

Shall we unleash future HOF Kyle Filipowski? Not really, but he’s super good. Why do we choose to play a small frontcourt off the bench instead of bringing in Flip for size?

— Dray Mottishaw (@draymottishaw) October 8, 2024

Question: Shall we unleash future HOF Kyle Filipowski? Not really, but he’s super good. Why do we choose to play a small frontcourt off the bench instead of bringing in Flip for size?

Answer: If you’ve followed my coverage either on the Jazz Notes Podcast or in my writing, you’ll know I’ve been a big proponent of Kyle Filipowski as a prospect, and said immediately following the draft that I thought he was the team’s most NBA-ready rookie.

While I stand by that through two preseason games, some important caveats give me reason to believe he won’t be in the rotation to start the year.

First, the depth in the frontcourt, and the current rotation make it difficult to give Filipowski minutes.

. @kylefilipowski‘s turn 3️⃣ pic.twitter.com/b84DX1f7on

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 8, 2024

Walker Kessler appears poised to open the season as the team’s starter, and John Collins will come off the bench as the Jazz’s sixth or seventh man.

The vote of confidence in Kessler means we’ll see the third-year big man earn 25-30 minutes a night, with Collins eating up the rest of the opportunities.

Filipowski has played some power forward for the Jazz next to Drew Eubanks which may provide a pathway for him to play behind Lauri Markkanen, but again, Collins and Taylor Hendricks will also likely fill the majority of the reserve minutes at the four.

Second, as talented as Filipowski is, he’s not yet an NBA-caliber three-point shooter, and that’s the role the Jazz need from him most.

For Filipowski to differentiate himself from Kessler and Collins, he’ll need to be a high-level floor spacer, and while his playmaking and quick decisions have caught the eye of the Jazz coaching staff, he’s not yet proven to be a reliable shooter.

Kyle Filipowski on his three-point shot:

“It’s a huge priority for me, I think the coaches have made it clear, it’s a pretty big priority for them, too.” #takenote | @utahjazz

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) September 30, 2024

Here’s a quote from Will Hardy about Filipowski after Monday’s win.

“Kyle’s brain excites me, like he’s really smart. He sees and understands quickly. His size makes him a dangerous passer. Moving through the first part of this year, one of the big focuses for Kyle is going to be the consistency of his shooting.”

Despite knocking down 3-5 three-point attempts in his two preseason games, his shot still needs a lot of work, and that’s something I’ve seen firsthand after practice.

The Jazz rookie tends to see a different result every time shoots the ball, then falls into the trap of adjusting his next shot to compensate for his last.

The league’s best shooters have the same release, trajectory, and timing every time they let the ball go, and Filipowski just hasn’t had the reps yet in practice to generate that type of consistency.

But the Jazz are optimistic he’ll get there under their tutelage.

“We keep honing some of those things technique-wise to try to help him, because he has amazing hand-eye coordination,” Hardy said, “I don’t worry about him shooting long term.”

Filipowksi will make the NBA and I think he’s a relatively safe bet to stick in the league for a long time, but he has to get up to speed in a few areas first.

Do you think a major reason the Jazz have never fully bottomed out is because of our home court advantage? Between crowds, elevation and a generally competent front office it seems tough to go full tank.

— Sammy Paradise (@jakepppppp) October 8, 2024

Question: Do you think a major reason the Jazz have never fully bottomed out is because of our home-court advantage? Between crowds, elevation, and a generally competent front office it seems tough to go full tank.

Answer: There are a handful of people I would credit/blame for the Jazz never truly bottoming out, and here they are in no particular order.

Larry H. Miller
Jerry Sloan
John Stockton
Karl Malone
Quin Snyder
Rudy Gobert

For all but 16 months between 1985 and 2022, at least one of those people was working within the Jazz organization and played a big role in the team winning more games than it had any right to.

Since 2022, it seems Will Hardy and Lauri Markkanen are also doing their darndest to continue that tradition.

But, to your point, since 1979, the Jazz have had 40 seasons with a winning record at home, including last year when they finished 21-20, and haven’t had a losing record since 2013-14 when they finished 16-25 in Salt Lake City.

I think the altitude, the consistent talent, the highly impressive fan turnout, the unprecedented run of good coaches, and the expectation from ownership to win games have contributed heavily.

With that said, it may also be part of the reason the team hasn’t won an NBA title, and why I expect them to have a losing record at home this season.

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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.

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