After a long wait, the Utah Jazz played basketball on Sunday night. <\/p>\n
Well, kind of. <\/p>\n
The Jazz earned a commanding 109-97 preseason victory over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night. <\/p>\n
In the process, Utah looked like a young, fun team that should take a big leap from last season. <\/p>\n
Whether that translates to the playoffs remains to be seen, but the Jazz should win far more games than last season. <\/p>\n
That said, it\u2019s preseason. Don\u2019t take it for gospel, but it at least feels safe to get excited. <\/p>\n
Utah forward Lauri Markkanen led the team in scoring with 17 points in just 16 minutes. Keyonte George, fresh off his contract extension, added 15 points, four rebounds and three assists. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Blake Hinson added 14 points and made four 3-pointers off the bench. <\/p>\n
Get How ‘Bout This Jazz newsletter. Utah Jazz post-game analysis and hot takes from The Tribune\u2019s Andy Larsen.<\/p>\n
The Jazz started George, Darryn Peterson, Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jusuf Nurki\u0107. <\/p>\n
In the second half, Utah replaced Markkanen, Jackson and Nurki\u0107 with Ace Bailey, Josh Okogie and Jaxson Hayes.<\/p>\n
Utah was missing three players due to injury: Kyle Filipowski (low back), Josh Green (left knee) and Brice Sensabaugh (left hip).<\/p>\n
Here are three observations from the Jazz\u2019s first preseason game.<\/p>\n
Sharing is caring <\/p>\n
Boy, do the Jazz play an unselfish brand of basketball. <\/p>\n
The Jazz did an excellent job of keeping the ball moving and passing up good shots for great shots. Now, that didn\u2019t always translate into buckets, but it was a thing of beauty to watch. <\/p>\n
Utah guards would drive to the rim, forcing the Denver defense to collapse into the paint, then swing the ball out to a teammate on the perimeter for an open 3-pointer. <\/p>\n
Coach Will Hardy has clearly emphasized making the extra pass. It\u2019s why players like Blake Hinson (four 3-pointers) and Svi Mykhailiuk (three 3-pointers) feasted from deep. <\/p>\n
The Jazz finished with 28 assists on 39 buckets on Sunday. <\/p>\n
Darryn Peterson with an up-and-down debut<\/p>\n
Look, the rookie wasn\u2019t perfect on Sunday. <\/p>\n
He scored 3 points, shot 1-for-5 from the field and missed some looks he\u2019d probably want back. <\/p>\n
The rookie also had two turnovers \u2014 one from trying to do too much on offense and one via an offensive foul. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s completely normal. A learning curve is expected. And he still made an impact even without his shot falling. <\/p>\n
He wasn\u2019t shy about crashing the boards, finishing with six rebounds. He also had a handful of assists and even a steal. It wasn\u2019t an overall great debut, but different moments in the game showed the player Peterson can become. <\/p>\n
Give him time, and don\u2019t take too much away from this performance. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s his first preseason game, after all. <\/p>\n
Collier and Bailey stand out<\/p>\n
Last week, Isaiah Collier and Ace Bailey both talked about how they had seen growth in their individual games over the offseason (something Hardy backed up as well). <\/p>\n
Well, those two had games to remember on Sunday. Collier stuffed the stat sheet with 9 points, four rebounds and four assists in 15 minutes. <\/p>\n
The most encouraging sign was his shooting. Collier shot 3-for-4 from the field, including 2-for-3 from 3-point range. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, sophomore Bailey was perhaps the most exciting Jazz player to watch Sunday. <\/p>\n
The game appears to have slowed down for him on both ends. He finished with 10 points, five rebounds, one block and one steal.<\/p>\n
On offense, Bailey got to his spots with ease, finishing 5-for-10 from the field. On defense, he used his length and wingspan to disrupt the Nuggets\u2019 offense.<\/p>\n
His development alongside George and Peterson is something to watch this season. <\/p>\n
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