Kyle Korver Makes an Immediate Impact in Return to Utah

Kyle Korver returned to Utah in style.

The veteran guard scored 14 points and made four 3-pointers in 22 minutes off the bench to help the Jazz take down the Hornets 119-111 to win their second straight game on Friday.

One of those 3s was his first shot of the game and his first in a Jazz uniform since 2010.

“Any time you come to a new place, I guess it’s not a ‘new’ new place, you want to do it right in the beginning,” Korver said in the postgame interview. “I think I knew what I was doing maybe a fraction of the time, but these guys are great and obviously Quin [Snyder] was a mad scientist drawing stuff up and it was a lot of fun.”

Korver is one of the best 3-point shooters in NBA history. He is one of three players in NBA history to shoot 40 percent from 3-point range on 5000 or more attempts. The other two; Stephen Curry and Ray Allen. Korver has shot 40 percent or better from deep in 13 of his 16 seasons, including his 48.3 percent clip this season. Utah is one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the league, converting just 32.6 percent of their attempts, which is why they rank 25th in points per game and 27th in offensive rating.

Utah had to part ways with Alec Burks and two second-round picks to acquire Korver. Burks was in the bench role Korver occupies now, but his 37.2 percent clip from deep wasn’t good enough for the Jazz.

Thanks to the trade, the Jazz have managed to remain in the hunt in the West despite their struggles on both ends of the floor. Korver should help Utah improve its shooting and the defense should return to its previous form to make the Jazz a stronger contender as the playoffs approach.