Jazz 130, Lakers 116: Four Key Takeaways

The Utah Jazz cruised to a 130-116 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night, as Lauri Markkanen scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and Jordan Clarkson chipped in 20 points.

Point guard Russell Westbrook came off the bench and scored 26 points to lead the Lakers in a losing cause.

The Lakers and Jazz have been connected via the rumor mill this year, with L.A. being the team looking to upgrade in the present, but it appears Utah has the roster that should be playing for this season as it improved to 7-3. The Lakers dropped to 2-6.

What did we learn in the Jazz victory? Let’s break it down.

Lakers Regret not Landing Clarkson

The key players in the rumored Jazz-Lakers trade this summer had Clarkson and Bojan Bogdanovic going to L.A. for Westbrook and draft capital. Clarkson showed why not pulling the trigger was a huge lapse of judgment by the Lakers' front office.

The former Sixth Man of the Year has been showing the league that he’s much more than just a scorer, while Bogdanovic is thriving in Detroit, averaging 20.2 points a game. Also, the Lakers aren’t in a position to tank the season due to the New Orleans Pelicans having access to L.A.'s pick via a pick swap. L.A. is stuck between a rock and a hard place.

LeBron James Scoreless in First Quarter

The anomaly stat of the day is for only the 24th time in his career, King James was shut out in the first quarter. The future Hall-of-Famer finished with only 17 points while shooting 0-for-7 from long distance.

James' legs look heavy all game, and at age 37, we might finally be witnessing a steep decline in what he can do on the court. The Lakers would be wise to put their 2027 and 2029 first-rounders in their back pocket and cut their losses on the 2022-23 season. Trading Westbrook isn’t going to put them in contention for a title.

Jazz Score 75 in First Half

The Jazz are the first team to put up 75 points in a half twice this year. More impressively, it was done to a team that had the second-ranked defense headed into the contest.

Point guard Collin Sexton led the charge in the first half with 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting while knocking down a trio of three-pointers. Utah has an offense that can get points in bunches and is scoring on all three levels.

The Jazz spread you out, can dribble drive, and have a plethora of capable three-point shooters. It’s unfortunate Utah has zero national TV games to display an offense that can put on quite a show.

What Are the Jazz doing?

At what point does Utah put in all its chips on winning in 2022-23? The wins are starting to pile up, and at this stage, it would be a tough sell to a fan base that the Jazz need to tank for draft position.

I’d give it another 10 games, and Utah will have to decide one way or another.

Follow Patrick on Twitter @pbyrnesNBA.

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