The silver lining in the rash of injuries that have beset the Utah Jazz lately is the opportunity it’s given several bench players.
Perhaps no player has taken advantage of the opportunity more than Joe Ingles, who joined the Jazz just before the start of the regular season after being picked up on waivers from the Los Angeles Clippers.
The 6-foot-8 forward from Australia has been a solid reserve for the Jazz, playing in every game before being inserted into the starting lineup for the past two games.
In Monday’s game against Indiana, Ingles played a season-high 37 minutes and came fairly close to producing a triple-double with eight points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
Ingles prefers to talk about the team than himself and understands the team concept.
“When you’re missing three pretty important players, it’s a whole different game,’’ Ingles said. “The good thing is our team and our offense and they we play is pretty team-oriented and everyone passes the ball.’’
He was encouraged by the way the Jazz hung in against Indiana after falling behind by 19 before nearly snatching a win in the final seconds.
“The best thing about playing with these guys is the attitude, and obviously we were missing some guys tonight and others had to step in, but we never gave up,’’ he said. “That is impressive and now we need to build on that for the next trip.’’
Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.
