The J-Notes
Fansided

Three things Utah Jazz fans need to see from their team in regular season opener

By Jared Woodcox

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - OCTOBER 16: Joe Ingles #2 of the Utah Jazz celebrates a play during a preseason game Portland Trail Blazers at Vivint Smart Home Arena on October 16, 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 16: Joe Ingles #2 of the Utah Jazz celebrates a play during a preseason game Portland Trail Blazers at Vivint Smart Home Arena on October 16, 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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 4
Next
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – OCTOBER 16: Mike Conley #10 and Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz react to a play during a pre-season game against the Portland Trail Blazerson October 16, 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 16: Mike Conley #10 and Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz react to a play during a pre-season game against the Portland Trail Blazerson October 16, 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 Utah Jazz had a disappointing preseason, but if they can begin to make strides in three key areas in Wednesday’s opener, it should bode well for the season ahead.

The long-awaited 2019-20 NBA season is finally here and the first night of action did not disappoint as the defending champion Toronto Raptors prevailed in overtime against an intriguing young New Orleans Pelicans team and the Los Angeles battle between the Lakers and Clippers was spectacular as expected with the Clippers pulling away to win 112-102.

But for Utah Jazz fans, the main event was always set for the following night as the Jazz will play their first game of the new campaign against a significantly altered Oklahoma City Thunder team. Gone are both Russell Westbrook and Paul George and in are renowned Jazz killer Chris Paul along with dynamic threats Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari.

The Jazz are facing extremely high expectations for the 2019-20 season especially after the moves they made this summer to enhance the team, so it will be important for them to set a precedent and tone right out of the gates beginning with their opener. Though it’s difficult to project just where the Thunder will end up this season as they straddle the line between remaining competitive and re-tooling for the future, this will still be a challenging game for the Jazz to win.

That may be especially true considering how much they struggled in preseason play where they went winless against NBA competition. True, preseason shouldn’t be read too much into, but there were definitely some glaring issues that the Jazz will have to fix moving forward.

With such being the case, although perfection can’t and shouldn’t be expected in the first regular season game, there are still key areas where it would be nice to see the Jazz perform well or take significant strides. Therefore, the following are the three main aspects that Jazz fans need to see in game one to feel better about the direction of this team after a rocky preseason.

Home/Jazz News