'It reminds me of Kelly': Kyle Filipowski starting to find his footing (and playmaking) with Jazz

LAS VEGAS — Kyle Filipowski touched his lips to check for blood.

The Utah Jazz rookie big man had just been caught under the basket as the Sacramento Kings scored one of their many easy buckets of the first half in Monday's 82-70 win over the Jazz in Las Vegas.

"I've gone through my struggles on the court, and learning a new identity and a role and things like that," Filipowski said before the game.

The play was a microcosm of that.

Filipowski got lost in no-man's land guarding a pick-and-roll, and soon the Kings were throwing down an alley-oop dunk over his head.

"But it's really for the better," he continued. "I think going through these hard moments, it's really how you persevere and turn into the person you're supposed to be."

Filipowski's summer league got off to a rough start, averaging just 2.0 points as he struggled to adapt to the NBA pace in three games in Salt Lake City. Things are starting to slow down for the former Duke Blue Devil.

He had 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting, while adding five rebounds and two assists.

"His versatility is going to be key for us moving forward into the coming season," Jazz summer league coach Sean Sheldon said. "We can put the ball in his hands, put him off ball; he's good in transition. He can knock down catch-and-shoot 3s. So just keep working with him and developing him to get comfortable in all these different situations."

What he did with the ball in his hands stood out on Monday.

He threaded the needle between two defenders to find Cody Williams on the baseline, leading to a dunk. He spun around a defender to find Taylor Hendricks for an open corner 3-point attempt.

Filipowski wasn't shy in trying to create for himself, too, using an array of drives and spins to find space for shots.

"It reminds me of Kelly (Olynyk)," Sheldon said. "As he gets more comfortable, he's going to continue to make plays that you go, 'Wow!'"

At this point, everything is a bit uneasy for Filipowski (and pretty much every other rookie playing in summer league).

He's dealing with the extra physicality of playing against pros for the first time, and learning the NBA game and new positions. Add to that Sheldon trying to see just what the players can do on the court, and they're expected to be in some uncomfortable situations.

That's just what the Jazz coach wants.

"I'm glad we still have some more games to play — keep putting (them) in these situations," Sheldon said. "I want them to be a little bit uncomfortable, so it'll be fun."

Filipowski said he's still trying to figure out where he fits best at the pro game. Offensively, his game is more tailored-made to be a center — a big-bodied big that can initiate some offense and stretch the floor. Can he survive defensively as a center at the NBA level? Well, that's all part of the discomfort.

Filipowski did say, though, that he's starting to get used to the physicality, especially after months of doing skill work as he trained for the draft.

"You were trying to protect your body a little bit more, so there's a lot less physicality with that," he said. "So playing real games again, you've got to remember about the physicality."

He was reminded of that a few times against a Kings team that featured a few guys with real NBA experience. At the same time, he got to see he is starting to adjust to life in the NBA.

"I'm not expecting anything; it's just keeping an open mind and trying my hardest to get better every day," he said.

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