Although starting the preseason out with a loss wasn’t the desired result for such a hyped Utah Jazz team, fans have no reason to feel disheartened.
The Utah Jazz logged their first preseason game of the year Monday night as they took on Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers. The team got off to an incredibly hot start, dominating the first five minutes of action in particular, before faltering in the second half. In the end, the Jazz lost 98-89.
Despite a few brilliant sequences, the Jazz looked disjointed and out of sync overall, much as you would expect during preseason play. But before fans overreact and hit the panic buttons, how’s this for a little reassurance?
Some of the other teams who dropped their preseason opener to start out at 0-1 include the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs.
If Utah is trying to mimic the success and championship aspirations of teams like this, why not get an early start, right? After all, they always say it’s a copy cat league.
All jokes aside, while I’m more than aware that losing a preseason game isn’t by any means a legitimate measuring stick of future success, the point I’m making is that if elite teams like the Warriors and Spurs are going to be alright with one preseason loss, so will the Jazz.
That one game is not indicative of how Utah will play as a team during the regular season. Here’s a few reasons why:
First, Gordon Hayward looked great during this preseason game, leading the team with 17 points on 4 of 9 shooting. Oh yeah, and he did it in just 18 minutes, which was considerably less than all of the Blazers’ starters minus Mason Plumlee. He’ll log a lot more than that in a normal contest.
As Hayward gets increased minutes and more opportunities to prove he’s the alpha on the team, you can bet on a much better team result as well.
Also, Hayward wasn’t the only one who played limited minutes. All of the starters saw reduced time and Shelvin Mack, Joe Ingles, Raul Neto and Jeff Withey saw much more time than they’ll likely get on a typical regular season night.
More than anything, preseason games are a glorified scrimmage in which Coach Snyder is feeling out his roster, seeing who plays well together and deciding what rotations work the best. Monday’s game could be viewed largely as an experiment. Expect normal and consistent rotations once the regular season gets underway.
Finally, the Jazz in a nutshell have three main kinds of players on the team. Young veterans, who have logged at least three years already with the squad (i.e. Hayward, Favors, Gobert), Young up-and-comers with two or less years under their belt (i.e. Rodney Hood, Dante Exum) and finally, experienced veterans who are new to the team (i.e. Joe Johnson, George Hill, Boris Diaw).
The young veterans — Hayward, Favors, and Gobert — who by all rights should be the most comfortable and confident on the team looked solid for the most part (minus some passing/catching issues from the big men).
Meanwhile, it’s expected that the likes of young Hood and Exum will have some offseason rust to start out the year and although the newcomers are all seasoned vets, there’s still a learning curve that comes with a new system and teammates.
Reader’s Digest version? The nerves and miscues were totally expected and will be buttoned up during the regular season. The Jazz still have five “trial run” preseason games to get used to one another and I expect to see huge strides leading up to opening night.
Once the rotations are solidified and the Jazz lock in from a focus, intensity and chemistry standpoint this team truly is going to be a force to be reckoned with.
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There was a lot of hype surrounding the Jazz all throughout the offseason and fans shouldn’t let this first game deflate their hopes at all. Utah still has all the pieces to be something special. We just have to be patient a little longer.
After all, don’t forget that the preseason loss has us in some pretty elite company.