Utah Jazz drop preseason home schedule featuring an Aussie re-match
By Ryan Aston
The Utah Jazz have revealed their home schedule for the 2019 NBA preseason. Once again, the exhibition slate features a bout with the NBL’s Adelaide 36ers.
With the Utah Jazz incorporating so many new faces this offseason, the team’s exhibition slate will have an added level of importance when games tip-off this fall. After all, adding the likes of Mike Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic, Ed Davis and the rest is all well and good, but these guys still have to learn how to play together.
On Monday, we found out when fans will get to see this process play out live at Vivint Smart Home Arena for the first time.
The Jazz announced their home schedule for the 2019 NBA preseason and, once again, it features a showdown with the Adelaide 36ers of the Australian NBL. They’ll also go toe-to-toe with Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers, as well as De’Aaron Fox and the Sacramento Kings.
The schedule is as follows —
Saturday, Oct. 5: Adelaide 36ers
Monday, Oct. 14: Sacramento Kings
Wednesday, Oct. 16: Portland Trail Blazers
Although the 36ers will be severely over-matched in the opener, the contest will still be a nice way to introduce the Jazzland masses to their new team. Also — there will be a couple of familiar faces on the Adelaide side.
Most notably, forward Eric Griffin, who joined the team in June.
After balling out for the Jazz’s summer league squad in 2017, Griffin became the team’s first-ever two-way player when he inked a deal with Utah that summer. In the end, he didn’t see any regular season action as part of the main roster, but he did appear in 19 games with the G-League’s Salt Lake City Stars, putting up 17 points and five boards a night.
He spent last season playing in Italy, Poland and Israel.
Joining Griffin will be head coach Joey Wright, the 36ers’ head man for the last six seasons. He was also part of Utah’s summer league outfit in ’17, taking a spot on the bench as part of the coaching staff.
Wright is a three-time NBL Coach of the Year and has led his team to two Grand Final appearances.
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Meanwhile, the Blazers game will feature a homecoming of sorts for former Jazzman Rodney Hood. The 26-year-old re-upped with Portland on a two-year, $11.7 million deal this summer.
Hood last played for the Jazz during the 2017-18 campaign when he averaged a career-best 16.8 points per game over 39 appearances. He’s since settled in to a nice reserve role with the Blazers.