1 Stud, 2 Duds, and 2 questions from Jazz loss vs Trail Blazers
By Matt John
Given their preseason success in 2024, the Utah Jazz have seen better days. In fact, they have seen much better days compared to nights like tonight. The Portland Trail Blazers did not hold back at all when they gave the Jazz a full-out shellacking on October 18.
That's why it's we're going a little against the grain for this preseason reaction. When the Jazz play this badly, it's hard to think of the glass half-full.
Stud
There are no good takeaways from a situation like this. Outside of the fourth quarter, the Trail Blazers beat the Jazz by double digits in every quarter outside of the fourth. The game went so badly that it was basically over by halftime.
That's why the only stud of the night was head coach Will Hardy, who took out the starters so as to end the suffering so fan could tune out early tonight.
Duds
1. When the Jazz stink, they reek!
Up until tonight, the Jazz had been mostly good in the preseason. They started out pretty badly in that one matchup against the Rockets, but they pulled off an epic comeback against them. Not this time, though.
Once the Trail Blazers made their mark, the Jazz had no comeback magic this time. Not one or two players were terrible. The team as a whole was terrible. Some were worse than others, like Lauri Markkanen, who was among the worst of the worst, but it's not like there were any positive contributions from this one at all.
2. The Jazz's playmaking... woof!
The Jazz's playmaking deficiencies continue to be a problem. Even when they win, it's been an issue, and it's still very much a pressing issue. Tonight, it was 22 turnovers to 16 assists. Part of the Jazz's future has hinged on their promising guards. If they can't prove themselves as dependable as playmakers, that can get in the way of their long-term goals.
It's also something to watch with the Jazz this season. Because their playmaking is still really bad, that could definitely factor into their performance.
Questions
1. Was tonight good news or bad news?
So enough ragging about what went wrong tonight because anyone who watched the game knows what went wrong. But knowing the Jazz's intentions, are games like tonight what they want?
The Jazz not only went up against the one Western Conference team likely to compete with them for the "Capture the Flagg" sweepstakes but got beaten down pretty badly. If this is going to happen when the regular season starts, that could help the Jazz quite a bit in their lottery chances/
2. Is Will Hardy sending a message to the starters?
Three of the Jazz's starters did not play to start the second half - Markkanen, Walker Kessler, and Keyonte George. In fact, they didn't even come out of the locker room. That certainly drew some attention.
By removing the starters at halftime, Hardy may have sent a message to what will likely be their starting lineup—if you're not going to show up, you're not going back out there, period. The Jazz's starters set the tone for what went down, so it makes sense that 60% of them got the boot.
At the same time, this may also mean Hardy trusts Collin Sexton now more than he did since he was not benched at halftime.