SALT LAKE CITY — Notes from Jazz shootaround before they take on the Chicago Bulls on TNT Thursday night at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Quin Snyder, Gordon Hayward, and Shelvin Mack spoke to the media.

First game on TNT in 4 years

Tonight is the Jazz's first game on TNT since 2012, when the team played on the channel during the playoffs. That led to a few changes to the pregame routine. First of all, the game's at 8:30 p.m. MT tonight, later than the normal 7 p.m. MT start for home games.

But even at shootaround, there were a few extra happenings. The team wore silly suit shirts for Craig Sager as he continues his fight with leukemia.

Representatives from TNT and NBATV were also in town, getting video and interviewing Gordon Hayward for an upcoming show.

"I didn't realize it's been that long," Hayward said when I told him it was the team's first time on TNT in four years. "It's a chance for the nation to see who we are as a team."

Injury notes

George Hill is again out for Thursday's game due to his sprained right thumb. "It's a little deceptive because he finished the game against New York," Snyder said, "but then reality set in and he found that he really hurt his thumb."

Derrick Favors is out due to the knee bone contusion found in an MRI Wednesday. It's fair to say that Favors will be out for a while as the contusion heals. Remember, Boris Diaw missed eight games with his leg contusion. Snyder just wants "Anything that can happen right now that lets him get back to himself. It's a process."

Gordon Hayward came back sooner than expected from his broken finger, and he's played very well except for in one respect: his shot. He's shooting just 24 percent from three in the six games he's played this season.

"The timing isn't there yet. A lot of my shots are right on target, and they're just off by a little bit. To me, that's a timing thing, that's a rhythm thing," Hayward said. "My finger's going to be bothering me until it's fully healed. I practice with it, I shoot shots with it, so I have to play through it.

Hayward was massaging his finger during his entire session with the media, and we asked him about that. "I'm just making it feel better. Just getting a little bit of the swelling out, a massage makes it feel a little better." He does that on the court too, so don't be too concerned.

Matchup-specific starters

With the injuries to Hill and Favors, Snyder has to choose who will fill the holes in the starting lineup.

"I think the thing about who starts and who plays right now is that it's become more matchup specific, with Shelvin and Dante and also Boris and Trey."

Snyder indicated that Diaw would likely start against Chicago tonight, but said nothing about the point guard spot.

I've always really liked the idea of changing a starting lineup depending on the matchup. Instead of having players married to their roles, it allows a team to exploit mismatches and the weaknesses of the other team's starters.

But players say they prefer to know their role coming in, as Shelvin Mack acknowledged. But, thanks to his relationship with Snyder, he's more willing to be flexible than he would be with another coach.

Bulls matchup

It's an interesting matchup for the Jazz against the Bulls tonight. First, there's the matchup of Hayward against fellow star wing Jimmy Butler.

"He's playing well this year, shooting the three ball well, and when he does that he's pretty dangerous," Hayward said. "I think he's at his best when he gets to the line, so we're going to try to play him without fouling."

Snyder agreed. "The foul line is the best part of their offense."

There's another wrinkle to the Bulls: "They're far and away the best offensive rebounding team that we'll have played against," Snyder said. "That's a situation that we'll miss Fav. Our perimeter players have to be ready to rebound."

Monday, the Jazz really struggled on the defensive glass against Memphis. Improving that was a major emphasis at shootaround today.

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