Well, that was about as a bad as the season could have started for the Utah Jazz. The Memphis Grizzlies (who potentially owns the Jazz's conditional pick this year) didn't just beat them, but they beat them pretty easily. They controlled the pace of the game from the second quarter onward and they didn't look back.
As far as why the Jazz lost to the Grizzlies, the first reason that absoluely should come to mind is Ty Jerome. Jerome is an excellent player itching to prove himself after an injury-riddled season in Memphis. However, he's not a guy anyone would instantly peg as someone who would go off for 45 points on any given night.
If Jerome puts up his standard, maybe the Jazz still lose, but it wouldn't have been by 20, and the Grizzlies would not have controlled that game as much as they did. However, part of why Memphis dominated this game was because they exploited Utah's team disadvantages overall in regards to rebounding.
Times like those are a good reminder that the Jazz may have a hard time playing the way they want to without Jusuf Nurkic.
Nurkic would have made a difference in this one
Nurkic is expected to be out for only a few weeks, which isn't too bad, but nights like tonight emphasize Utah values what he does. For what he isn't anymore, Nurkic can rebound. The Grizzlies throttled the Jazz on the board, winning the rebounding battle 55-38, but more specifically they dominated the offensive boards, winning that battle 15-5.
Jerome had himself a magnet ball, which is definitely annoying, but that may have been negated to a certain degree if Nurkic had played. Losing on the boards mkaes it harder to win games regardless of who's going off or not.
Nurkic isn't the rim protector Walker Kessler or Jaren Jackson Jr. is, but he is a smart player whose absence leaves a void, and that was on display. it will be interesting to see how Utah adjusts to this between now and when he returns in November.
Much of tonight's loss will be rooted in simply bad luck. Jerome's an excellent player, but when he goes off for that many points, you just shrug and say, "It wasn't out night" compared to say if someone like Nikola Jokic went off for that much. However, nights like tonight show how valuable Nurkic truly is, especially knowing that's who Utah sees as their Kessler replacement.
Thankfully, he shouldn't be out for too long, but then again, Georges Niang's foot injury didn't sound too bad last season at first
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