Utah Jazz Preseason Preview: Four Reasons to Watch

Despite the idea that preseason games aren’t important, here’s a look at four reasons why tonight’s match-up is a must-watch for Utah Jazz fans.

The Utah Jazz kick-off their 2016-17 NBA Preseason tonight at 8:00 PM MT on the road as they take on the Portland Trail Blazers. While fans will undoubtedly be more excited for the next time the Jazz travel to Portland on October 25 to open the real season, there are still several reasons to be stoked about tonight’s match-up.

But before diving into those, one reminder is that it’s important to remember that one can’t read too much into the preseason. Even if the Jazz go 0-6, it doesn’t mean the season is lost. On the flip side, if they go 6-0, it doesn’t mean that they’re going to take the NBA Championship this year.

It’s very common for the best and worst of teams to come out of preseason right around .500. And while the preseason is a fun precursor to the regular season and a great opportunity to shake off some of the offseason rust, there’s many different factors that make its results much less than indicative of how the actual season is going to go.

This primarily is because there isn’t much at stake considering that the games don’t count for anything record-wise. With this being the case, coaches often limit the minutes of their star players and let some of the training camp guys fighting for a roster spot play more than they ever would in a real NBA game.

The preseason is a testing grounds for the season and neither the coaches nor the players are going to pull out all the stops.

For example, a lot was made of the Warriors preseason loss to the Raptors on Saturday and Durant’s 2-of-9 shooting performance. Does this mean Golden State is doomed? Was the Kevin Durant acquisition just a huge mistake? More than likely the answer to both questions is a resounding, “NO!” This early look in limited minutes was not an accurate indication of how good the Warriors will be by any means.

So in other words, for better or for worse, the Jazz’s performance should be looked at in the same way; there will be no need for panic mode or over-celebration either way. In essence, Jazz fans shouldn’t let the preseason shape their overall opinion of the Jazz this early, instead they should just sit back, relax and be excited.

And why should you be so excited, you ask? Well, while the preseason might not be as highly anticipated as any regular season games, Jazz fans still have plenty to look forward to tonight.