4 Takeaways from Jazz's 111-104 Preseason Loss to Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs defeated the new-look Utah Jazz, 111-104, in head coach Will Hardy’s preseason home debut.
It was never close as the Spurs jumped out to a 39-26 first-quarter lead and never looked back.
Spurs shooting guard Devin Vassell led all scorers with 24 points on 10-for-15 shooting. Utah was led by Lauri Markkanen with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Did we learn anything from the shellacking in Salt Lake City? Let’s break it down.
Layup Drill
One glaring weakness the Jazz will have this year is rim protection. At some points in the game, it looked like the Spurs were in the midst of a layup drill.
Jazz starting center Kelly Olynyk can spread the floor on the offensive side, but to say he’s no Rudy Gobert defensively would be the understatement of the year. Rookie Walker Kessler is their best rim protector, but he was called for three fouls in a span of fewer than two minutes.
There are definitely going to be some growing pains for this young Jazz team on the defense side this year.
Simone Fontecchio on the Bench
When Bojan Bogdanovic was traded, it looked like a clear path was being created for Fontecchio to get starter minutes at the small forward position. The sharpshooter out of Italy was coming off a summer where he looked like the real deal in the FIBA World Cup.
But since coming to Salt Lake City, Fontecchio looked lost, and at this stage, he's in danger of not even cracking the rotation. Fontecchio wasn’t put in Tuesday night's game until the fourth quarter, where he was able to score eight points in 12 minutes of action.
It is an improvement, as he did knock down a couple of three-pointers, but it looks like he still is adjusting to the style of play in the NBA.
Is Jordan Clarkson Starting?
It looks like Clarkson’s days of coming off the bench could be coming to an end. The former Sixth Man of the Year started for the second game in a row.
This isn’t for certain, as newcomer Malik Beasley wasn’t available due to an ankle injury, but Utah needs a shot-creator on the floor to start the game, and Clarkson fits the bill.
Roster Bubble Watch
Second-year pro Jared Butler helped his cause in making the team by scoring 13 points, but more importantly, was given 15 minutes of action in the first half. It appears his spot is safe.
Veteran Rudy Gay had another subpar performance with only eight points in 25 minutes. The trade market for Gay doesn’t exist, and Utah’s only options are a waive/buy-out, or to keep a player that most likely doesn’t want to be a part of a rebuild.
Neither shooting guard Leandro Bolmaro nor forward Stanley Johnson played. Could this be a sign that they could be waived before the October 17 deadline?
The Jazz wrap up their preseason with a home game this Friday vs. the Dallas Mavericks.
Follow Patrick on Twitter @pbyrnesNBA.
