Utah Jazz: 3 takeaways from Game 4 vs. Thunder
By Mason McFee
3. Joe Ingles is shooting his shot
The name of the Aussie in question? It’s Joe Ingles, and don’t you forget it.
The no-call on Paul George was documented earlier, but that wasn’t the end of on-court interactions between Ingles and Joe:
Ingles’ importance to the Jazz as a facilitator and shooter has been documented in my previous pieces, but the most important role Ingles plays on the Jazz is as a leader; and he took that role seriously Monday night.
While Ingles hitting four 3-pointers was great (and hitting three 3s in roughly a minute of game time), he didn’t shove George back after being pushed for no apparent reason besides maybe wanting to actually change his nickname to Pushoff P.
Instead, Ingles played to his strengths, continued to play physical with George, and got a technical and called for the crowd to cheer him on. Okay, maybe that last one may not be the best example for this young Jazz squad, but it certainly got them fired up.
Early on in the third quarter, Ingles forced Paul George into a shot clock violation, and refused to back down from defending one of the NBA’s premier talents. He finished with 20 points on 5-of-11 shooting from downtown.
It doesn’t matter that Ingles only attempted all but one of his attempts from beyond the arc – the Jazz won by 17, and their trajectory is sky high.