Preseason Game Thread II: Utah Jazz at Phoenix Suns
By Ryan Aston
After dropping their preseason opener to the Portland Trail Blazers, the Utah Jazz are looking for redemption against Eric Bledsoe and the Phoenix Suns.
So, the Utah Jazz lost their first preseason game. After all the hype surrounding the team’s new additions, the return of Dante Exum and another year of development for the core, the Jazz looked mostly disjointed in their return to the court. The result was a 98-89 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Frankie says relax, fam. It’s only the preseason.
As Jazz coach Quin Snyder tinkers with lineup combinations and works to assimilate new players like George Hill, Joe Johnson and Boris Diaw into the fold, there are going to be ugly moments. Snyder has spoken frequently about connectivity during training camp and early practices, but is also preaching patience with his new-look squad.
“It’s gonna take a while,” Snyder said. “It’s the first week. The offense has wrinkles and complexity to it. They’ll get there. As the knowledge of the system develops, so will the offense.”
Despite the team’s struggles in Portland, Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors look to be in midseason shape. Hayward scored 17 points against the Blazers, while Favors put up 14 points, nine rebounds, two blocked shots and a steal.
The Jazz get another crack at things on Wednesday night against a Phoenix Suns team with a distinct Jazz flair. The Suns coaching staff is spearheaded by former Jazz point guard Earl Watson; longtime Jazz coach and player Tyrone Corbin and former All-Star Mehmet Okur are also on the staff.
Watson’s squad had a much more successful debut than his former team. On the back of a strong second-half effort, the Suns beat the San Antonio Spurs 91-86 in their first preseason game. Although Phoenix struggled from the field overall, Devin Booker put up 19 points in 24 minutes of play and the Spurs were held to 40 percent shooting.
The No. 4 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, Dragan Bender, had a quiet debut, going scoreless in 23 minutes. However, No. 8 overall pick Marquese Chriss finished with 10 points and four rebounds.
Watson has already announced his starting lineup “for the year” and it doesn’t include star guard Brandon Knight. Regarding the move, Watson says, “Brandon Knight is not a bench player. He’s a starter in this league and he sacrificed the most for our group, and he took it like the pro that he is. He understands the opportunity we have to be special.”
The Suns may be special one day, but this is not that day. I expect the Jazz to look a little more like the team that played the first five minutes against the Blazers and less the hot mess we got for the remaining 43.
We’re still going to see some hiccups and Snyder will undoubtedly roll out a lot of players once again, but I envision a better effort on both sides of the ball.
As for Knight, part of the reason Watson has him coming off the bench is because he feels second unit guards can’t defend him. I’m very curious to see how Exum handles the match-up on both sides of the ball after a seemingly ho-hum return from injury.
https://twitter.com/utahjazz/status/783685867776860160
Game Data
Broadcast Info
Tip-off: 8 PM MT from Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, AZ
TV: Root Sports and NBA TV
Radio: The Zone Sports Network (97.5 FM & 1280 AM Salt Lake City)
Projected Starting Lineups (UPDATED)
Utah Jazz
PG: George Hill
SG: Dante Exum
SF: Gordon Hayward
PF: Boris Diaw
C: Rudy Gobert
Phoenix Suns
PG: Eric Bledsoe
SG: Devin Booker
SF: T.J. Warren
PF: Jared Dudley
C: Tyson Chandler
Injuries (UPDATED)
Alec Burks remains out for the Jazz as he continues his rehab. Derrick Favors (knee soreness) and Rodney Hood (hand sprain) will also be held out as a precaution. As for the Suns, P.J. Tucker continues to recover from back surgery.
More from The J-Notes
- With the FIBA World Cup over for Simone Fontecchio, it’s clear he deserves minutes for the Utah Jazz
- Best, Worst and Most likely scenarios for the Utah Jazz this season
- Hoops Hype downplays the significance of the Utah Jazz’s valuable assets
- 3 Utah Jazz players who have the most to gain or lose this season
- Former Utah Jazz forward Rudy Gay is a free agent still and it shouldn’t surprise anyone
Prediction
One game in and my perfect season has already gone up in flames after taking the Jazz and the over on Monday. The only betting info I could find as of this writing has the Jazz as 2.5 point favorites with the points set at 195.5.
Originally, I was taking the Jazz and the over once again, but I’ll take the Suns plus the points and the under given the injuries.
Either way, I expect a better effort overall from the Jazz against the Suns.
Discussion
The Twitter hashtag for the game will be #UTAatPHX. Once again, I’ll be hitting you with live tweets @PurpleandBlues1. You can also comment below, if you’re into that sort of thing.