The Utah Jazz pulled together a big-time win vs. the Boston Celtics amid their five-game road trip that lifted them to their third victory on the new year, and a game where the Jazz saw some positive across multiple names on the roster.
But, within a positive night for Utah, there was one name in the mix during that Jazz win who wound up emerging as the team’s biggest X-factor in the eyes of head coach Will Hardy, and a sentiment that Kevin Love would agree with following the game: second-year big man Kyle Filipowski.
“I thought Flip was– Kevin [Love] just said it in the locker room to the team– Flip was probably the X-factor for our team tonight, and made some really big plays,” Hardy said following the Jazz’s win vs. Boston.
Will Hardy: “Kevin (Love) just said in the locker room: Flip was probably the X Factor for our team tonight. He made some really big plays.”
— Ryan Miller (@millerjryan) November 4, 2025
Nov 3, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Utah Jazz forward Kyle Filipowski (22) controls the ball while Boston Celtics center Neemias Queta (88) defends during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images / Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images
During the Jazz’s win over Boston, Filipowski put together a super impactful night– even if it didn’t jump off the page like his teammate Keyonte George’s 31-point performance.
In the 19 minutes he was on the floor, Filipowski posted 13 points and eight rebounds, emerging as one of four Jazzmen to score in double-figures.
But it’s not just his role as a versatile scorer that Hardy values Filipowski for. In fact, the Jazz head coach says he wants to keep the second-year big man’s role a bit simple: moving the ball, maintaining pace, and spacing the floor.
“You know, Flip is somebody who we’ve talked a lot about last year; he’s got this pretty broad skill set, and that, in different moments, can be distracting. Because there’s a lot of different things that he can do. But we want him to keep it pretty simple.”
“We want him to be a ball mover, somebody who helps us create tempo in the full court and the half court by moving the ball and getting to secondary actions, and I thought tonight [vs. the Boston Celtics] when he had his moments later in the clock, whether it was a catch and shoot or time to make a play towards the end of the possession, he took advantage of those.”
“Right now, Flip is generally not a primary option when we’re calling plays. He’s somebody we want to put in the mix, because he’s a good thinker, and makes good decisions. but I thought tonight he just, he let it come to him. There weren’t very many plays, where I felt like he was forcing it.”
Even without being that primary option, Filipowski sure made his presence felt both against the Celtics and upon the Jazz’s coaching staff following their winning effort.
Especially coming off a couple of nights where the second-year big man saw his minutes dip drastically, a bounce back was more than necessary for Filipowski to get his sophomore campaign back on track. We’ll see if he can keep the momentum moving in a positive direction.
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