Utah Jazz dominate in preseason action against Pelicans

The Utah Jazz finally found themselves in a favorable position in preseason action on Monday night, decimating the New Orleans Pelicans 127-96. It was a welcomed change of pace for a Jazz fanbase that’s watched their beloved club drop two preseason games while featuring shorthanded rosters.

It was the Pelicans who found themselves lacking marquee names on Monday night, as Zion Williamson is recovering from left foot surgery (for the foreseeable future) and Brandon Ingram was listed as having right knee soreness. Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz entered Monday’s game with a full deck, and it absolutely showed.

Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert shines in preseason debut

Rudy Gobert arrived at the Vivint Arena for the first time this preseason, and the Tower stood as tall as ever. He finished the contest with 19 points, 19 rebounds and 2 blocks on a hyper-efficient 7/8 from the field, even draining 5 of his 7 free throw attempts. His masterful performance was a sight for the sore eyes of Utah Jazz fans.

The defensive value of the 3x Defensive Player of the Year is well-established, but last night served as a reminder of Gobert’s value to Quin Snyder’s offensive attack. Gobert created space for himself and his Jazz teammates with an array of on-and-off ball screens, diving to the rim and freeing up shooters alongside the perimeter in equal measure.

Simply put, this Utah Jazz team will not realize their NBA championship ambitions without Gobert. He was a mind-numbing +37 in the contest.

Utah Jazz forward Eric Paschall makes statement

In this (hopefully) brief window where Rudy Gay is unavailable, Eric Paschall needs to maximize his opportunity if he hopes to become a staple in Snyder’s rotation. He definitely made a strong case for himself on Monday night.

Paschall finished with 14 points on 6/7 shooting from the field in 17 minutes against the shorthanded Pelicans. His wealth of strong inside moves was on full display, and he also finished an efficient 1/2 from the three-point line.

His defensive limitations were also apparent in Monday’s contest, as the young forward was late to rotate on a couple of occasions, leading to easy New Orleans field goals. He’ll need to make progress on the less glamorous end of the floor as the season progresses, or else solid veteran Rudy Gay is likely to eat up the vast majority of his would-be minutes.

Nonetheless, the former Warrior definitely asserted his offensive value against the Pelicans, and Utah Jazz fans should be encouraged. If he can continue to score as efficiently as he did on Monday, Snyder may have a real rotational dilemma on his hands when Gay returns to action.

Utah Jazz starters see ample minutes

Throughout most of the preseason, Snyder has looked to experiment with lineups, allowing some of the younger players on the Jazz roster to get a feel for NBA action. On Monday night, he largely stuck with his most important players, resulting in a blowout victory.

To be fair, the Pelicans were woefully undermanned. Just as Utah Jazz fans should not be discouraged by the first two losses of the preseason in which they were missing key players, they should take Monday night’s victory with a grain of salt (no pun intended, for our Salt Lake City readers). Still, it’s encouraging to see that the Jazz’s machine, when fully assembled, is humming.