The Utah Jazz got their first loss of the season against the Sacramento Kings last night. The Jazz competed from start to finish, but it took a clutch and-one layup for the Kings to put away the Jazz once and for all. Losing may be tough, but because the Jazz are tanking, it's games like last night that Utah should try to have every night.
No one likes watching a team lose, but when fans know exactly what their team plans to do ahead of time, losing is made easier when they know what the end game is. Better than that, what differentiates losses like last night and last year is that the Jazz were healthy and they earnestly competed against a team that, as confusing as its roster construction, is trying to make the playoffs.
Losses like that demonstrate that the Jazz can be competitive while their youth develops, which is a good sign for them as players long-term. It's also a necessary growing pain for young teams, as every single one has had to learn from its mistakes before turning into something great. As long as the team makes their games as competitive as possible, these losses won't stunt their growth because they form winning habits along the way.
It also allows the Jazz to accumulate top-notch young talent while being a competitive young team. There will be plenty of very promising young talent that will be available in the upcoming draft. Adding a young starlet to a young team already forming winning habits only ensure a fantastic future ahead.
We haven't even delved into the most important part
Compared to last year, this is so much better
Last year was kind of depressing for Jazz fans. Watching the Jazz bench their veterans and lose games in embarrassing fashion was not a fun watch from start to finish. It wasn't all terrible, but it was mostly terrible.
No one liked watching Lauri Markkanen struggle, or watching John Collins get benched, or seeing some of the youth Utah hoped would look good not exactly live up to expectation. Funny thing is, that last one could still very much be a thing, but the Jazz as a unit have looked exciting enough that it may not matter.
What fans want to see is a team that's fun to watch even if winning games may not be in the cards. We're two games in, and it already feels like Jazz fans are going to see an entirely different product even if the record remains the same when the season's over.