The J-Notes
Fansided

Utah Jazz: The good, the bad, the ugly from preseason blowout over Adelaide

By Jared Woodcox

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - OCTOBER 05: Jeff Green #22 of the Utah Jazz celebrates a basket during a game against the Adelaide 36ers at Vivint Smart Home Arena on October 5, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - OCTOBER 05: Jeff Green #22 of the Utah Jazz celebrates a basket during a game against the Adelaide 36ers at Vivint Smart Home Arena on October 5, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images) /
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SALT LAKE CITY, UT – OCTOBER 5: Royce O’Neale #23 of the Utah Jazz dunks the ball against the Adelaide 36ers during a pre-season game on October 5, 2019 at vivint.SmartHome Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – OCTOBER 5: Royce O’Neale #23 of the Utah Jazz dunks the ball against the Adelaide 36ers during a pre-season game on October 5, 2019 at vivint.SmartHome Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The Good

First of all, the Jazz won the game by 52 points. So by and large it was an excellent showing. I could go on and on about all the good things the Jazz showed, but rather than touch on them all, I’m instead going to highlight those that stood out the most.

To me, above all was the play of Royce O’Neale. Though some have hypothesized that he could be a starter for the Jazz this upcoming season, he came off the bench in this particular bout. But when he was on the floor, he was awesome.

He looked prolific in every aspect of the game defensively and offensively. He finished with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting to go along with a made three, six assists and a game-high plus/minus of plus-34. Utah’s success this season hinges not only on the assimilation of the new pieces, but also on significant improvement of returning players, and Royce is one of the key guys in that category. Fortunately, he appears off to a good start so far.

Jeff Green and Tony Bradley also both had great games. Green infused the Jazz with energy right off the bat and finished with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field including a 50 percent clip from three.

Meanwhile, Bradley showcased his body of work as he aims to prove that he can indeed be a reliable center option if Ed Davis and/or Rudy Gobert are not available. Not only did he drop 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, but he also pulled down 10 rebounds in just 18 minutes of play.

Though it would be nice to see Bradley get a bit more aggressive in terms of attacking the rim, he was excellent on the boards and took great advantage of his looks at the hoop, so it’s hard to get too critical.

Beyond that, there were several individual and group performances that were highly encouraging, but in summary I’ll simply say that this Jazz team is extremely deep. Quin Snyder and Co. should be highly encouraged by the number of contributors they could have even near the bottom of their depth chart.

Despite having four guards that figure to be a part of the rotation out of commission in Mike Conley, Donovan Mitchell, Dante Exum and Emmanuel Mudiay, the guys the Jazz had in action stepped up big time. Nigel Williams-Goss showed massive improvements from the last time he played within Vivint Smart Home Arena. Miye Oni was surprisingly impressive with incredible athleticism. And even Justin Wright-Foreman had some great moments.

In conclusion, in regards to the good from Saturday night, the Jazz have just one roster spot remaining and a handful of guys vying for it. One of the more likely players to earn that spot is William Howard, who definitely helped his case on Saturday by going 4-of-4 from the field, including 3-of-3 from deep, to finish with 11 points in 12 minutes.

Sure, everything should be taken with a grain of salt considering the level of competition against which the Jazz were playing. But there’s still no denying that there was a whole lot to like in the first preseason contest of the year.

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