The Utah Jazz kept up their stellar preseason play with their fourth victory over the Sacramento Kings. Holding their own against a playoff contender like the Kings is an encouraging sign for the Jazz, knowing they can compete with their fellow Western Conference competitors.
Perhaps what stood out most is that it really was a team victory more than anything else. That's the kind of victory they want where everyone does their part instead of one player carrying the load. Now that the Jazz have finished the season at 4-1, it's time for some studs and duds!
Studs
1. The Jazz's backcourt getting buckets!
It might be a little too soon to ask, "Isaiah who?" since he technically hasn't done anything in the NBA yet, but an all-around excellent scoring performance from the trio of Collin Sexton, Keyonte George, and Jordan Clarkson.
Between the three of them, they scored 51 of the Jazz's 117 points on the night. That's exactly what the Jazz expect from them on a nightly basis when they are at their best.
2. It was a block party in Salt Lake City
Usually, when the Jazz rack up the blocks, the typical culprit is Walker Kessler when he makes his presence known. Tonight, Kessler had four blocks on the night, but that accounted for only a third of the Jazz's block total. John Collins (three), Jordan Clarkson (two), and Lauri Markkanen (one) also joined in on the fun.
Some of these made for some pretty entertaining blocks, too. Jordan Clarkson is not exactly known for using his hangtime to get blocks, but man, when he does, it's a rare spectacle to behold.
THIS BLOCK BY JORDAN CLARKSON pic.twitter.com/5LIQfwea2Z
— Jazz Lead (@JazzLead) October 16, 2024
3. This felt like a real game
Preseason performances always carry the stigma of "It doesn't count," but this felt like a regular-season victory. The Jazz and the Kings were playing their main rotation players for most of the game, making it feel like this counted for something.
Up until the very end, both teams played their hearts out, leading to a pretty entertaining preseason finale. Since the Jazz won in the end, that could do wonders for their confidence.
Duds
1. Turnovers are still a problem
The Jazz continued to rack up turnovers, surrendering 24 on the night, which is not a good look when you see that they had 21 assists by comparison. It does reflect poorly on their guard rotation since Sexton, George, Clarkson, and Mills accounted for 14 of those 24 turnovers. Even worse, they conceded 32 points off turnovers, making for an 18-point swing.
That reared its ugly head when George gave the ball up to DeMar DeRozan to help the Kings cut the deficit from three to one in the closing seconds of the game. Those brain farts can't happen in the actual game.
2. Offensive rebounds are also a problem
The Jazz had their hands tied dealing with Domantas Sabonis, one of the NBA's best rebounders. He definitely dominated on the glass, corraling 16 rebounds, with 11 of them being offensive.
That made for 20 offensive rebounds on the night for the Kings, which helped keep them in the game. The Jazz must do better on the boards to not allow such a thing to happen.
3. No time for Johnny Juzang?!
In case you can't tell, there isn't much bad to take away from an impressive preseason victory, but it is sad that Juzang, one of the Jazz's biggest standouts, didn't get any minutes, and since this felt like a regular season win, that could indicate he won't be in the rotation.
That's not a surprise, but Juzang has been fun to watch. He could get in there eventually, but it may be a while.