The Utah Jazz have had a rocky 0-2 start to the 2021-22 NBA Preseason, but fans in Salt Lake City may want to hold off on the funeral procession. The team was without seven of its players heading into Wednesday’s contest, including Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Mike Conley, Joe Ingles, Bojan Bogdanovic, Rudy Gay and Hassan Whiteside.
In other words, the unit that dropped their second preseason game to the Dallas Mavericks 111-101 more closely resembled the Utah Jazz Blue than the contending NBA team. The Mavericks may not have given their starters a full slate of playing time, but Luka Doncic did manage an outrageous 19 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in 16 minutes of action.
As such, it’s difficult to invest much stock in the result of this particular game, but some individual performances could be worth monitoring. Some of Quin Snyder’s younger players managed to distinguish themselves with their performances on Thursday: for better or for worse.
Utah Jazz rookie Jared Butler continues to shine
The brightest spot in the entire Utah Jazz preseason thus far has undoubtably been second-round NBA Draft selection Jared Butler. He finished Wednesday’s bout with 22 points on 9/18 shooting from the field (including 3/7 shooting from long distance). Butler did his damage with an impressive combination of on-and-off ball work, spacing the floor for teammates as willingly as he produced his own opportunities out of pick-and-roll sets.
The rookie’s playmaking chops weren’t consistently on display, as he finished with 4 assists and the same number of turnovers. However, he did flash advanced court vision for his age at times, hitting teammate Eric Paschall with a pinpoint alley-oop pass in transition early in the contest.
All things considered, the Baylor product gave Utah Jazz fans even more reasons to be excited about his potential on Wednesday evening, even if he couldn’t carry the team to victory against a healthy Dallas Mavericks outfit.
Recent Utah Jazz signee Malik Fitts lives up to name
Still vying for the Jazz’s final regular season roster spot, forward Malik Fitts definitely made his case for Quin Snyder on Wednesday evening. The undrafted 24-year-old contributed 12 points for the Utah Jazz on Wednesday evening, shooting 4/7 from the field with a pristine accuracy rate of 4/5 from three-point range.
The fact that each of Fitts’ made field goals came from three-point range could be indicative of a player who is ready to fill a role that every contending team could use more of: floor-spacing wing. A muscular 6’8 and 230 pounds, Fitts may have the physical profile and athletic tools to develop into a more well-rounded player in time.
Either way, floor-spacing is always at a premium in the NBA, and Fitts showed that he’s capable of providing it in droves. Preseason action has a tendency to inspire overreaction and hot-takery, but the three-point line is the same distance away as it is in the regular season. Fitts showed Utah Jazz fans that he’s quite comfortable with that in Wednesday evening’s contest.
Udoka Azubuike cleans up the glass
If Utah Jazz center Udoka Azubuike is ever likely to claim a regular spot in Quin Snyder’s rotation, he’ll have to develop into a more consistent rebounder. The 8.2 missed shots he collected per 36 minutes last season simply will not suffice for a 6’10, 280 pound athletic marvel such as Azubuike.
Last night, Azubuike improved his stock as a Jazzman by proving he was capable of providing more on the glass. He collected 14 rebounds in 24 minutes of action, outworking Dallas Mavericks like the 7’2 Moses Brown, and NBA veteran Willie Cauley-Stein.
It was a step in the right direction for the unpolished, physically imposing Utah Jazz big. It was also (slightly) encouraging that Azubuike only committed 3 fouls in 24 minutes of action. That’s not necessarily a fantastic pace, but considering the 5.7 per 36 minutes the young man committed last season, it’s a step in the right direction.
All told, it may be difficult for Azubuike to earn minutes in Quin Snyder’s rotation next season with veteran Hassan Whiteside in the fold. Nonetheless, if he can continue to maximize the opportunities he is afforded like he did last night, he’ll only improve his chances.
Utah Jazz prospect Miye Oni disappears into thin air
Miye Oni delivered the opening salvo for the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, knocking down an open 3 to put the Jazz ahead early. It was their first basket of the game, and disappointingly, it was Oni’s last.
In 33 minutes of action, Oni managed only those 3 points for the Jazz, going 1/7 from the field and 1/6 from deep. He did manage to collect 5 rebounds, but the most ardent optimist couldn’t look to that fact and surmise that Oni impressed in this preseason loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
Oni will be on the Utah Jazz roster to open the regular season, but if he hopes to find anything more than a garbage time role with the club, he’ll need to deliver stronger performances than the one he did on Wednesday night.
As previously mentioned, Utah Jazz fans ought not to invest deep emotions in the outcome of this contest. They may be one of the deepest teams in the National Basketball Association, but there’s not a squad in the NBA worth criticizing in a loss without 7 of their most important players. Fans should monitor who suits up in Monday’s action against the New Orleans Pelicans.