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3-point's and out: Utah from beyond the arc tonight really struggled, making just two in 12 attempts. That won't cut it over the course of the season, especially in the Western Conference, where there are plenty of teams who can get hot from the perimeter in a hurry. Rodney Hood was 0-7 from deep, which is a shame because he did everything else very well tonight. Gordon Hayward was 0-2 as well. For spacing purposes, the Jazz need their wings to stretch the floor. Considering how poorly Utah shot the ball, it's a testament to its defense that this game was absolutely there for the taking.
Surprise of the night: Jazz point guard Trey Burke had a shockingly difficult evening. He didn't score on two attempts from the field. He struggled coming off the bench defensively. Most surprising, he played just 16 minutes, and didn't play in the fourth quarter. Burke was one of Utah's best players in the preseason, and clearly deserved to play significant minutes, just based off the preseason sample size. But he was invisible tonight, and when he began to struggle on the defensive end - Steve Blake was very good off the bench for Detroit - Quin Snyder didn't hesitate to go in other directions.
What does the loss mean: It means the Jazz lose game one of 82. Nothing more, nothing less. Utah has a day of travel, and then they play Philadelphia on Friday night.
Men in the middle: Both Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert had really nice games. Favors had 26, and Gobert was great defensively and rebounding the ball. If anything, Gobert's teammates let him down to a degree defensively, relying too much on his presence in the middle and allowing way too much dribble penetration. Still, Favors was great throughout, making plays on both ends.
The lineup: By the lineup, we mean the three-wing alignment, which the Jazz closed with. It allowed Utah to get back into a game that looked all but lost at the four minute mark of the fourth quarter. Hayward, Hood and Alec Burks are all so good with the ball in their hands that they can create offense off the dribble almost at will. In game one, the returns were excellent. Expect this lineup to be on the floor a ton during important moments.
Jazz record: Utah is 0-1 on the season.
The horizon. The Jazz have the Sixers on Friday, and will have their first back-to-back on Saturday at the Indiana Pacers.
Tony Jones