The Utah Jazz didn’t get the opening-night jolt they wanted. Instead, they walked out of Memphis with a 123-103 loss in their first game of the season, and now they’re back home barely 48 hours later trying to reset against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Friday’s home debut gives Utah a quick chance to clean up the rough edges from that first showing, but a better result will likely require a few key players to look more like themselves. Some Jazz pieces had encouraging moments in the opener. Others did not, and they’ll be under the microscope again against New Orleans.
Lauri Markkanen sits near the top of that list. He still finished with 18 points against the Grizzlies, helped by going 9-10 at the line, but the shooting numbers were not what Utah expects from one of the league’s more dangerous scorers. Markkanen went 4-13 from the field and 1-7 from three, a night that fell short of his usual standard.
Utah needs more from him on offense going forward, even with the roster’s talent on that end. If Keyonte George and Darryn Peterson are handling the primary creation duties, Markkanen still has to punish defenses when the ball swings his way.
The encouraging part for the Jazz is that his track record points to a correction coming soon. He has shot over 37% from three in his time in Utah, and Friday offers a chance to get back on track in front of the home crowd.
Jaren Jackson Jr. also has room to deliver a much cleaner performance after his season debut in Memphis. The Jazz traded for him back in February, and his first game in a former home uniform was uneven.
He shot 60% from the floor, but turnovers and foul trouble limited his impact, and he ended up fouling out in 28 minutes. Three of those fouls came on the offensive end.
That kind of availability matters for Utah. The Jazz need Jackson Jr. to be active on both ends if they want to reach their ceiling, and that especially applies on defense, where the team is trying to make the kind of leap that would put it in the mix in the Western Conference.
Against the Pelicans, he’ll have his hands full with Zion Williamson. If Jackson Jr. can make that matchup tough and stay away from the whistles, Utah’s path to its first win gets a lot clearer.
Brice Sensabaugh is another Jazz player who could use a stronger night. He came off the bench for 14 minutes in the opener and managed just two points on 1-4 shooting. He also turned it over twice and finished at -10, which tied for the worst plus-minus among Utah’s reserves.
There’s no reason to overreact to one quiet game from a scorer with Sensabaugh’s profile. It was one night, not a trend.
Still, the Jazz would love to see him provide more punch with the second unit, whether that comes from threes or quick buckets around the basket. A better outing from Sensabaugh would go a long way toward improving Utah’s bench production and could help tilt Friday’s game in the Jazz’s favor.
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Keyonte George has already helped set the tone for the return trip home, sounding eager to get back in front of Utah fans and embracing the boost that comes with playing at the Delta Center. For a Jazz team trying to reset quickly after the opener, the homecoming offers an early chance to show that the better health and sharper readiness the group talked about can carry over once the building starts filling up again. [Read more 🡒]