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NBA Utah Jazz

Joe Ingles a Steadying Force For Utah Jazz Bench

By @mrmarykateolsen

Joe Ingles Utah Jazz Bench Rodney Hood

NBAE/Getty Images

Coming into the 2014-15 NBA season, one of the biggest questions facing the Utah Jazz was the issue of bench production and whether or not the team had enough depth to provide any. Through 12 games, that question remains largely unanswered, but there have been some bright spots amid the uncertainty. Chief among them has been the play of Joe Ingles.

In the team’s blowout victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Ingles played a season-high 25 minutes and the Jazz were plus-14 during that stretch. That number marks Ingles’ best total of the year, but his impact has been apparent since the season began. During Utah’s recent five-game roadie, coach Quin Snyder said Ingles’ unselfishness was “invaluable to our group.”

When the team brought both Ingles and Jordan Hamilton on board just days before the start of the regular season, it was widely thought that Hamilton would be the player who became a part of Snyder’s rotation. Thanks in large part to that unselfishness, Ingles has become one of the first off of the Jazz bench on a nightly basis.

The Aussie spent training camp with the Los Angeles Clippers, but was ultimately waived. Clips coach Doc Rivers was sad too see Ingles go (and frankly, the struggling Clippers could probably use a ball-mover like Ingles right now). Before the two teams met earlier in the season, Rivers told the media, ” I like him. We were definitely trying to find ways to keep him. I think he’s going to be a good player.”

L.A.’s loss has been Utah’s gain. With Snyder still experimenting with different rotations and the bench suffering from the loss of rookie sharpshooter Rodney Hood, Ingles has been a steadying force for his club. As the Jazz continue to surprise the prognosticators that picked the team to win under 25 games this season, look for Ingles to play an important role in that process.

Ryan Aston covers the Utah Jazz for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @MrMaryKateOlsen or add him to your network on Google.

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