SALT LAKE CITY — Here are three thoughts from Utah Jazz writer Andy Larsen as the Jazz lost 102-93 to the Orlando Magic.

1. First quarter loss

This loss was really determined by the 1st quarter, which the Jazz lost 33-15. It was going to have to take a tremendous effort to make a full comeback after that, and quite frankly, the Jazz didn't have a tremendous effort in them after two tiring losses to Cleveland and Miami.

So what happened? Well, first of all, Derrick Favors picked up his second fould by the 8:04 mark of the 1st quarter. Just as they did against Miami, the Jazz struggled without Favors in the game.

In particular, Tibor Pleiss, who came in for Favors, doesn't look like an NBA player at this point in his transition to the NBA. In the 6 minutes Pleiss was in the game in the 1st quarter, the Jazz were a -14. That's ugly.

But by no means was Pleiss solely responsible. Alec Burks couldn't make a shot, leaving only Gordon Hayward as a capable offensive player in the 1st quarter. The Jazz turned the ball over irresponsibly time and time again with bad passes and poor ball security. Raul Neto was shut out of the paint, and didn't create anything. And Trey Lyles looked, again, pretty lost as he learns the Jazz's system and the NBA.

It's another illustration of just how thin the Jazz's roster is. With Rodney Hood and Rudy Gobert out, the Jazz run out of difference-making players really quickly. The good news is that both players look likely to play Sunday against Atlanta.

2. What's going on with Trevor Booker?

It's not that Trevor Booker looks lost right now, it's that it looks like he doesn't belong and is trying to prove otherwise. It's like he's experiencing the same frantic urge to establish his presence in the game that a brand new 10-day callup from the D-League has. It's also like what happens when you bring your hyperactive younger brother after a couple of Mountain Dews to your adult pickup game.

Yes, Booker is trying super hard, but he's fouling wildly too much (5.6 fouls per 36 minutes), is making a terrible percentage of his shots (shooting just 27 percent from the field), passing the ball less (3 fewer times per game, and fewer assists, despite more minutes), and is even rebounding less effectively.

Maybe the biggest difference is where Booker is taking his shots from: so far this year, Booker's taken 30 of his 47 shots from within 5 feet of the hoop, making just 10. Last year, he ended up taking 216 of his 464 shots from within 5 feet. Normally, you'd applaud a player for taking shots closer to the hoop, but it feels like this season that Booker is avoiding using his jumper in favor of taking contested shots at the rim. It seems like Booker, eager to start his game off with an easy bucket, is actually starting his games off by forcing difficult looks inside.

By the way, studies that have looked at whether or not making your first shot actually helps have found no statistically significant difference. It's probably better for Booker to make the right basketball play, not the one that he thinks will get the rest of his game going.

3. Jazz struggling near the rim

Booker's not the only one at struggling near the rim, though. Right now, the Jazz rank dead last in the league at converting those easy looks within 3 feet of the rim (52.8 percent), and they shot just 41.9 percent from there tonight.

That won't do. Nearly every Jazz player is shooting worse from the restricted area than during last season, when the team averaged 63.1% shooting from there. Check it out:

I also wonder if teams are packing the paint more against the Jazz this season, recognizing that they generally don't have more than two effective outside shooters on the court at a time. Regardless, it's been a big factor in the Jazz's occassionally disappointing offense this season.

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