NBA: 3 fringe players having a small breakout in the bubble
By Luke Duffy
2. Georges Niang
Georges Niang isn’t a complete surprise and certainly is not to Utah Jazz fans. This is his third season with the team. At 26, however, his minutes per game has hit double-figures for the first time this year (13.8 per game), and he is seeing himself get more looks on the offensive end.
Playing with Donovan Mitchell is always going to ensure this is the case, but the rapid improvement of Mike Conley Jr. after a rough start to life in Utah has ensured that Niang is now playing with another guy who will take eyes away from him and who will look for him when open too.
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Niang is attempting 3.3 shots from distance per game, and so far is shooting them at a rate of 39.0 percent. Returning to that double-overtime game on Saturday, although Niang was on the losing side in the end, it seemed like he entered the game every so often, made a 3-pointer and then departed again.
He finished with nine points, all on shots made from deep, and was a buzzing presence on the offensive end too. Niang likes to move without the ball in the same was as Klay Thompson, albeit nowhere near that level, and often sets up in one spot only to use a pick or a misdirection to appear elsewhere.
That being said, Niang had the ball in his hands at times and was comfortable trying to make things happen. He was also loud and physical defensively, although it is clear he is out there more for his ability to stretch the court.
The Jazz lag behind other teams in the west despite having a lot of talent themselves and will need individuals like Niang to come in and hit a couple of shots in a playoff series if they want to make some noise against more fancied opponents.