Utah Jazz Make Notable Starting Lineup Change vs. Charlotte Hornets

The Utah Jazz made one major change to their starting lineup before tipping off against the Charlotte Hornets.

That shift came within the frontcourt in the form of two notable swaps. Instead of starting the combination of Kyle Filipowski and Walker Kessler at the four and five spots, Taylor Hendricks and Jusuf Nurkic would be the starting pairing to start the night for Utah–– one move made due to injury, and the other being a coaching decision.

Before tipping off in Charlotte, the Jazz would inevitably rule out their previous starting center in Kessler for the first game of the season due to a shoulder injury, effectively leaving their backup, Jusuf Nurkic, the one to elevate into the starting five in his absence.

But the more eye-catching decision for Utah comes with what they did at the power forward spot– moving in Hendricks for his first start of the season in place of Filipowski.

Filipowski comes off a game vs. the Phoenix Suns on Friday, where he only appeared in 10 total minutes for the contest, being benched for all but a couple of garbage time minutes in the fourth quarter, paired with an unhappy head coach, Will Hardy, post-game due to the Jazz’s collective lack of effort and intensity.

Just one game later, Filipowski finds his way to the second unit.

During his five prior games on the year, Filipowski has averaged 6.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.8 assists while shooting 36.4% from the field on just under 20 minutes a night.

In that outing vs. the Suns, Filipowski had just eight minutes to his name, logging just two points on 1/5 shooting with two turnovers.

The swap could be in part due to the desired two-way versatility Hardy wants in his lineup without the presence of Kessler. No anchor in the middle means that the Jazz will be without their biggest component on the defensive end in the starting five, so Hendricks, naturally, offers a bit more upside on that end of the floor.

Or, perhaps the decision before tip-off could have a bit of a deeper implication for Hardy and the Jazz moving forward this season; sending a message Filipowski’s way after a lackluster night in Phoenix.

Time will tell how Hendricks and Nurkic’s night play out amid the newly implemented lineup differences, but regardless of how it unravels, it’ll make for the first big pivot for the Jazz’s starting five since the season tipped off just under two weeks ago.

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