By letter grades, here is how the Utah Jazz pieces performed in the opener.
On Wednesday night, the Utah Jazz pretty much picked up right where they left off from their 2020-21 regular season. In other words, they looked like a confident, lethal bunch that might well repeat as the overall top dog in the NBA standings.
In setting the stage for a decisive 107-86 season-opening home win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Utah Jazz starters seized control of the momentum and never looked back. A 2-0 deficit at the start was their only one of the night.
And after extending the lead to 30-18 less than a minute into the second quarter, the Jazz never again allowed the Thunder to climb back within single digits.
As a result, eighth-year Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder felt comfortable enough to all but empty his bench late in the game, thereby giving considerable rest to most of the team’s main contributors. Except for second-year center Udoka Azubuike, all the players on the Utah roster who dressed ended up getting at least a couple of minutes on the court.
Altogether, 13 Jazzmen saw playing time.
Now, let’s rank them against one another, from worst to best, by grading individual efforts against Oklahoma City. We’ll start with the three who played three minutes or less and, therefore, receive “incomplete” marks here.