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Tonight, the Utah Jazz will face Damian Lillard and the Portland Trailblazers in what will be the home opener in the preseason for Utah at EnergySolutions Arena.
And it should be a return to a bit of normalcy for the Jazz as well.
Trey Burke and Joe Ingles - who sat out of Friday's loss to the Phoenix Suns - will be available tonight. That means Burke will in all likelihood rejoin the starting lineup, and Ingles will be thrust back into the second unit.
For head coach Quin Snyder - and the Jazz - that's a welcome thing. This is still a young team, still a team that needs to gel together, still a starting five that needs to forge chemistry as the preseason wears on.
"We're a young team, so we need to play," Snyder said.
Snyder said he will continue to tinker with lineups and continue to experiment with his rotation. But his main core being sharp by the regular season is a must, which means the four remaining preseason games, plus a full week of practice upcoming for the Jazz is important to take advantage of.
The Jazz went through shootaround on Monday morning, and like their three and a half hour marathon practice on Sunday, Monday's session also went a little long. Snyder wants to see more energy tonight than he saw on Friday in Phoenix. He wants to see his team take better care of the basketball, and he wants to see a little more execution on both ends.
Burke's been a mixed bag of sorts so far. He's scored well in the preseason - very well at times. Still, his decision making hasn't always been the best, and that's something he needs to clean up for the Jazz as a team to reach their full ceiling. If he does that, Utah becomes much more dangerous.
Tony Jones