Utah Jazz fans got a scare on Thursday when rookie guard Darryn Peterson walked off the court with a pretty big scratch under his ear. The No. 2 pick took a physical beating in a Summer League game against the Wizards and the Wizards’ top prospect A.J. Dybantsa. But Peterson says he’ll be good to go when the Jazz face the Clippers on Sunday.
Peterson finished with 22 points, three rebounds, and three assists in 30 minutes. The Jazz lost 92-88 to Washington. That scratch came during some serious physical play. He confirmed after the game that it happened in the flow of action and he’s fine.
Dybantsa had a better night. He put up 27 points and seven rebounds on 7-of-18 shooting. He got to the line eight times and hit seven of them. Meanwhile Peterson struggled with efficiency. He shot 6-of-18 from the field, 2-of-7 from three, and turned it over eight times.
Peterson Learning to Handle the Rock in Vegas
The big change for Peterson is the workload. At Kansas he played off the ball most of the time. In Summer League he’s the primary ball-handler and that’s a different muscle to flex. He’s learning on the fly and Thursday was a reminder that this will take time.
But he’s already shown what he can do when it clicks. On Monday against Cam Boozer and the Grizzlies he went for 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting with 12 assists and only two turnovers. That 109-100 win showed the high-end potential.
Peterson is set to pair with Keyonte George in the Jazz backcourt this season. They could be one of the more fun young duos in the league if both stay healthy. But before that he’s got a few more games in Las Vegas to keep building. The scratch is just a scratch. The real work is about finding consistency in that lead guard role.
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