SALT LAKE CITY — Ace Bailey started running just a bit delicately. Then, he reached for his knees.
In a preseason game, that was enough to get him out of the game.
Bailey’s first run in the Delta Center didn’t last too long — getting pulled midway through the second quarter of Utah’s 114-101 loss ot the Dallas Mavericks Monday at home.
“He’s got some tendonitis in both knees,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “It’s nothing that we’re overly concerned with.”
Hardy said Bailey won’t need any image testing done on his knees, and the Jazz are just playing it safe with their prized rookie. In an exhibition, there’s no reason to push through small injuries.
“It’s just trying to take care of him,” Hardy said, “He was a little sore during his second stint.”
So the first game between Bailey and No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg — the two most talked about prospects of the 2025 draft — was a bit of a letdown.
After Bailey’s first run, he sat on the bench with a wrap on his left knee. He re-entered in the second quarter and was pulled after playing nearly four minutes after showing signs of discomfort.
“We don’t want to get in the habit of asking everybody all the time how they feel — I think that’s actually a huge issue right now in our league, is we probably ask too much,” Hardy said. “Like, I think if my parents had asked me every morning, ‘Hey, you feel like you’d go to school today?’ I probably would have said no a lot.
“Ace was reaching for his knees a little bit and moving a little bit gingerly. And so then the conversation happens. And one of Ace’s best qualities is he’s very honest. And so we just felt like tonight it was best to pull him and get some treatment.”
Bailey was ruled out at halftime officially due to bilateral knee soreness.
He ended the game playing just 11 minutes, and scoring 3 points on 1-for-4 shooting. The one made shot coming from a Lauri Markkanen kickout was a small sign of what the two long and athletic players can do together on the court.
But any more tantalizing plays between the two will have to wait.
Markkanen, who finished with 10 points and four rebounds in 18 minutes, missed Utah’s first two preseason games with a bruised wrist — the two games where Bailey flashed star potential. The rookie averaged 22.5 points in those first two games, but his scoring isn’t all that had Hardy excited.
“The most exciting thing for me is that he’s showing early signs of potentially being able to impact the game on both sides of the ball,” Hardy said before the game.
On offense, it’s been a strong midrange game, cutting, and a variety of 3-pointers. On defense, he’s been able to move his feet well to stay in front of guys.
“His conditioning needs to get way better, but his attitude, energy have been incredible from the very first day,” Hardy said.
And that energy was something many in Utah were excited to see firsthand, with many in the crowd already sporting No. 19 jerseys on Monday.
They got a small taste — just not the whole experience.
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