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

The Ugly

It feels a little dramatic to call anything ugly in an inconsequential preseason game against a vastly inferior opponent in which the team that was expected to win did so by 52 points despite missing several key players. So putting anything at all in this category is likely a bit overblown. But it’s preseason, the perfect time for overreactions, so let’s just do this, shall we?

Really there were only two things even coming close to fitting in this bucket in my mind and neither one is a true reason for concern. The first was Joe Ingles and Ed Davis functioning together in the pick-and-roll. Again, it really wasn’t that bad so don’t get too upset here, but it’s clear that it will need a little work and adjustment.

We’ve been spoiled the past two years because Derrick Favors and Joe Ingles enjoyed such an exceptional chemistry, that at times Quin Snyder would even call pick-and-roll plays between the two when he was in need of a high-probability bucket. The play often worked to perfection and became a staple of the Jazz offense.

Overall, Davis was great in Saturday’s contest, so this is by no means an indictment of him. His motor, rebounding and efficiency were all highly encouraging in his brief stint of 18 minutes of play.

But in those moments when Ingles was the primary ball-handler and they aimed to utilize Davis in the PnR, it wasn’t as seamless as we’re accustomed to. Considering that Joe may very well log significant time in the second unit alongside Davis, this will need to be patched up considerably by regular season time. Fortunately, I’m confident that it will be.

Last of all, the only other ugly aspect of the game was Georges Niang‘s disappointing shooting percentage wherein he went 3-of-14 from the field including 1-of-9 from deep. I’ve been raving over how excited I am to see Niang’s improvements this year and was looking forward to his first showing in preseason.  But unfortunately it didn’t go quite as hoped.

The good news, though, is that it was just one game and likely not an accurate depiction of what Niang’s shooting touch will be like this upcoming season. Any player is bound to have a bad shooting game every now and then, and it’s most probable that Georges’ just happened to come for this first preseason bout.

Furthermore, like others who had less than memorable shooting nights, Niang found other ways to contribute extremely well. This is always what you want to see out of a guy who can’t find his shot – an ability to still impact the game positively – and that’s exactly what Georges did. He added four rebounds, three assists and was a plus-30 on the night, all while displaying an incredible chemistry with Royce O’Neale, alongside whom he may log further minutes this year.

In short, even the so-called ‘bad’ and ‘ugly’ came with plenty of caveats and featured more positive takeaways than negatives. By and large, this was an incredible showing from the Jazz that should have fans feeling excited even though it came against a less than riveting opponent with several key Jazzmen sitting out.

I’m certain we’ll see more areas that need worked on, but potentially also more brilliant positives, in the upcoming preseason bouts which include road contests against Milwaukee and New Orleans before wrapping up at home against Sacramento and Portland.