The Utah Jazz are trying to turn over a new leaf this season. Things didn't start out great when they got blown out by the Memphis Grizzlies on Opening Night. They managed to beat the New Orleans Pelicans, but barely scraped by one of the NBA's most dysfunctional teams. That's why their upcoming matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers is a good test for them.
Not only are the Lakers a good team, but Walker Kessler has been the perfect fit for them. More specifically, he's been a perfect fit next to Luka Doncic. The Lakers haven't faced the best competition, but winning their first two games shows that they have something.
What makes it a good test for the Jazz is not just how good the Lakers are, but they're going to see how good they are as a team without Kessler. They didn't just lose rim protection when they traded him, but also rebounding.
That is going to be the key to how they win, but it also means a major challenge lays ahead: keeping Kessler off the boards. He's not just a good offensive rebounder, but one of the league's best. Now he's going up against Jaren Jackson Jr., one of the NBA's worst rebounding bigs.
It's not the end of the world if they lose
It's still early in the season. Utah is trying to figure out what works and what doesn't, and that's difficult early on especially when you've spent the last four seasons emphasizing losing for the greater good of the franchise.
The Lakers by contrast have put an emphasis on winning in that same timespan, and hence, know exactly what they're doing. Even tougher is that they just added a player who solves a lot of their problems in Kessler, even if he's not exactly a superstar.
This is only the first in what will be multiple matchups with a fellow playoff contender in the West. If the Jazz lose, it can provide them a template of what needs to get better. Winning does not boil down to pure talent but also chemistyr and habits. We have to remember that this is a long process, especially when a team like Utah is depending on their young talent to come through.
Of course, the Jazz will take the win over the Lakers every chance they get this season, but the season itself is still young enough to be proud of any moral victories that come from it. Utah has the chance to get a win they can be proud of, but if they lose, they have the chance to take pride in the fight they gave.
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