UTA 121, SAC 93: Isaiah Collier Leads With 41 ESPN FP
Jake Morrison
Computer Science Student · Dallas Mavericks fan
Jazz Demolished Sacramento and Isaiah Collier Just Changed Your Playoff Picture
121-93. That's not a game, that's an execution. The Jazz came to work tonight and the Kings showed up unprepared, and if you've got guys on either side of this matchup, we need to talk about what just happened and what it means for your roster.
| Player | ESPN FP | Yahoo FP | Tonight | Season Avg | +/- Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lauri Markkanen | 37.0 | 34.9 | 19/7/3 | 26.9/7.0/2.1 | -7.9 |
| Jaren Jackson Jr. | 38.0 | 34.8 | 23/4/2 | 19.3/5.7/2.0 | +3.7 |
| Isaiah Collier | 41.0 | 33.2 | 12/1/14 | 10.3/2.7/7.2 | +1.7 |
| Devin Carter | 24.0 | 31.0 | 19/5/4 | 5.4/2.1/1.8 | +13.6 |
| Nique Clifford | 16.0 | 28.6 | 6/8/6 | 6.6/3.0/1.6 | -0.6 |
| Cody Williams | 33.0 | 27.0 | 9/5/2 | 5.8/2.3/0.9 | +3.2 |
| Jusuf Nurkić | 27.0 | 25.8 | 8/9/4 | 11.0/10.4/4.8 | -3.0 |
| Vince Williams Jr. | 28.0 | 25.1 | 9/8/3 | 7.7/3.8/4.4 | +1.3 |
| DeMar DeRozan | 21.0 | 25.1 | 20/3/1 | 18.7/3.2/3.8 | +1.3 |
| Ace Bailey | 29.0 | 23.8 | 13/4/4 | 11.6/3.8/1.6 | +1.4 |
The Isaiah Collier Moment You Need to Understand
Look at Isaiah Collier's line. 12 points, 14 assists, 1 turnover on 5-8 shooting. He's at 30 minutes. That's 33.2 Yahoo points in 30 minutes of work. Here's the thing nobody's talking about yet, and you need to hear it: Collier just played a complete game against a defense that theoretically knows his tendencies.
He dished out 6.8 more assists than his season average. Let me be crystal clear about what that means. This wasn't a one-off. The Jazz ran everything through him tonight, and he executed. The kid's averaging 7.2 assists for the season, and he just proved he can hit 14 in a 28-minute workload. If you're in anything deeper than a 10-team league and Collier is on the wire, stop reading this and go add him right now. I'm not saying that lightly.
The Jaren Jackson Jr. Problem for Sacramento
Jaren Jackson Jr. dropped 23 points on 8-13 shooting. That's 61% from the field. He was +3.7 from his season average in points, which doesn't sound dramatic until you realize the Jazz were up by 28 at halftime. The dude was efficient when it mattered, and the Kings couldn't do anything about it. This is exactly what you want from a third-round pick right now.
What Went Wrong in Sacramento (Besides Everything)
Devin Carter had the most interesting game for Sacramento. 19 points, 10-12 from the free throw line. That's +13.6 from his season average. Look closer though, he shot 4-13 from the field. The Kings were fouling him just to stay in the game because the offense had completely broken down. He went off from the line, sure, but that's a desperation stat line, not a sign of things turning around.
Nique Clifford played 38 minutes and shot 1-15. One for fifteen. He was getting mauled trying to stay in contention, and he just couldn't find it. 28.6 Yahoo points because of rebounds and assists, but that 1-15 line is a red flag. If you own Clifford, you're probably panicking. Don't. One bad shooting night doesn't destroy a player's value, especially when he was running around trying to save a blowout loss.
DeMar DeRozan scored 20 but on 7-19 shooting. It wasn't clean. +1.3 from his season average isn't the story here. The story is Sacramento's entire offense looked disjointed. When DeRozan has to work that hard for 20, something's fundamentally broken with the team's spacing and execution.
Jazz Depth Is Real
This game proved the Jazz have legit rotation depth. Lauri Markkanen was "only" 34.9 Yahoo points but he was -7.9 from his season average. Why? Because the game was over early and they didn't need to run him like normal. He still got his with 19 points in 20 minutes. When your leading scorer can have an off-night-that's-still-efficient and you still blow someone out by 28, that's a contender's roster.
Cody Williams quietly put up 27 Yahoo points. Vince Williams Jr. chipped in 25.1. These aren't household names, but they're getting meaningful minutes in a Jazz offense that's clearly clicking right now.
The Waiver Wire Move You're Sleeping On
Ace Bailey just cracked ownership at 30% and I get why. 13 points, 4 assists, 3 three-pointers made in 30 minutes is the kind of line that makes league chat blow up. He's +1.4 from his season average though, which means this isn't some massive breakout. He's a role player who had a good game. Don't go nuclear adding him in 12-team leagues where he's already rostered. In 14+ team leagues? Sure, grab him if he's there. But this isn't a league-winner moment.
The Actual Takeaway
Sacramento got demolished because Utah executed at home and Sacramento came out flat. This wasn't some massive shift in the power dynamics. It's a 28-point game that says nothing about the playoffs except that the Jazz are capable of putting together a complete performance. For fantasy, Collier is your target out of this game. He proved he can handle higher usage and he's still available in a lot of leagues.
Everyone else just had a night. Collier had a career moment.