Three things to watch in the first Summer League game

Tipping off at 7:00 pm EST, the Utah Jazz play their first Summer League game against the up-and-coming Oklahoma City Thunder. The Jazz are not a Summer League team to watch for most people, considering they added no talent via the NBA Draft and don’t exactly have highly touted players on their roster, but this is the first basketball Utah has played in quite some time, so fans should be excited.

A large part of watching the Summer League is overreacting to how players do. We all understand that if a player scored 25 points in the Summer League they are not guaranteed to be an NBA starter, but it’s fun to have that mentality. It’s harmless, after all.

Rookie Johnny Juzang is probably the player on the roster with the most potential, although there is a lot of young talent on the team. That said, expect Juzang to take things slow after being involved in a car accident on July third.

With Utah getting their first taste of competitive play since April, fans should be on the lookout for potential professional talent. Keeping in mind what exactly Utah is looking for, there are three things for fans to keep an eye on in the matchup against the Thunder.

Has Utah Found the Center of the Future?

After moving star center Rudy Gobert, the Jazz are left with a large hole in the starting five. The team added Tacko Fall for Summer League play, and Kofi Cockburn was a high upside, low risk signing.

Walker Kessler did not make the Summer League roster, but I am also very high on him. Without him competing with Cockburn and Fall, it would be hard to say who of the three has the biggest chance to make the real roster.

My money is on Kessler, but if either of the Summer League players have a big showing then they could put their name in Will Hardy’s hat. One man is standing in both of their ways: Chet Holmgren.

The second overall pick was one of the best defenders in the country, taking home the West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year trophy. While not a conventional big, he will be matched up against Fall and Cockburn on both sides of the ball at different points.

Holmgren is an elite defender with a wingspan that prevents the seven-foot-six Fall from just using his insane height to get easy buckets. He can guard both inside and outside of the paint, so Cockburn’s mobility will be tested. It doesn’t end there. Holmgren will be a nightmare for the two bigs on the offensive side of the ball as well.

Cockburn can bully Holmgren in the paint with his strength, and Fall makes getting to the rim amazingly hard. However, Holmgren will still challenge them. What he lacks in strength, he makes up for in lateral movement, so Cockburn might struggle to keep up. Fall is also rather slow, so Holmgren can just dribble around them if needed. If Utah is looking for a potential future center, this is an incredible first test for their options.