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Dallas — Want to make a one more comparison between Gordon Hayward and Chandler Parsons?

Sure, the two young small forwards both signed massive deals as restricted free agents last summer. The Jazz matched Hayward's four-year, $63-million offer sheet from Charlotte, while the Rockets watched Parsons leave for the Mavericks on a three-year $46-million deal.

But here's another: after their first games of the new season, both men are looking to shake off poor shooting nights and step it up for their teams, as they go head to head tonight at American Airlines Center. (Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and the game will be televised on ROOT Sports.)

"It sucks to play like that on the first game, but it's only one of 82 games," Parsons told ESPN Dallas after going 2 of 10 from the floor in the Maverick's opener. "It's going to take some time getting used to play with everybody, but it's just one of those nights where I couldn't get anything to fall. I've got to be better."

Hayward also struggled with his shot on opening night—something that plagued him for long stretches last year. He scored eight points on 3-of-11 shooting. But after a solid preseason campaign, Jazz coach Quin Snyder wasn't fretting.

"I would be very hesitant to judge Gordon's shooting based on one night," Snyder said following the Jazz's 104-93 loss to the Rockets on Wednesday. "He's been shooting it great. He's been playing with confidence. If he needs to hear that from me, he'll hear it. The last thing I want him to do is think about his percentage."

Aside from shooting, Hayward still found ways to contribute for the Jazz. He had eight rebounds, seven assists and a steal on the night.

Parsons, meanwhile, grabbed four rebounds and recorded two steals, but didn't have a single assist.

"We just need Gordon to keep being aggressive," Snyder said. "The thing with Gordon is he's so unselfish that he tries to get other people involved, and you have to keep reminding him he needs to attack too. I'm not concerned if it's scoring or passing. He just needs to attack."

Snyder then said he'd like to see Hayward model his game after former Bulls forward Scottie Pippen.

"I think there are lots of ways Gordon can have a good game," he said. "The guy that I would like to see him continue to evolve into is a player like Scottie Pippen, that can defend a really tough matchup, that can make shots, that can pass the ball, and just his versatility allows him to impact the game in a lot of ways."

• Trey Burke (38), Alec Burks (35) and Gordon Hayward (38) all logged major minutes in Wednesday's opener. Snyder said he left his starters in longer than he wanted to because the Jazz were on a run. Going forward, the coach wants to keep those minutes down.

• That opens the door even more for new Jazzman Joe Ingles, who is once again active tonight. Snyder said the Aussie is "easy to play with" and said the team needs someone to take up those fourth-wing minutes.

• Tonight, the Jazz will have their hands full with Dirk Nowitzki and Monta Ellis, the Mavericks deadly one-two punch from a year ago. But Dallas has added even more weapons this season, acquiring Parsons and bringing back Tyson Chandler, a key member to the team's last title run.

Then this week Dallas acquired another member of that championship team: point guard J.J. Barea.

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle, however, wasn't interested in reliving the past Thursday night.

"Are we really going to turn the clocks back and get into all this stuff?" he asked, after a reporter mentioned Barea's role that season. "That's over with. We've got to deal with what's going on now. And we brought him back because it was an opportunity to bring back a player that can help us."

— Aaron Falk