SALT LAKE CITY — Three thoughts on the Jazz's 110-77 win over the Detroit Pistons from KSL.com's Utah Jazz beat writer, Andy Larsen.

1. Jazz play to their identity to win the game

Here's the Jazz's identity that they envisioned before the season: play elite defense, and on offense move the ball to get open threes and layups.

The defense part was easy tonight; the Pistons scored just 77 points in their 92 possessions. Before the game, the Jazz explained that they were most worried about the pick-and-roll prowess of Reggie Jackson, who torched the Jazz in two meetings last year in Pistons wins.

So what was the key this year? Well, probably the biggest one was that their primary point guards weren't Trey Burke and Raul Neto, and were instead George Hill and Dante Exum. That meant instead of scoring 29 or 19 points, like he did last year, he scored seven, on 3-11 shooting.

That let everyone else stay home and play defense on their individual matchup. As a result, Marcus Morris went 3-15, Tobias Harris went 4-12, and the Pistons overall just shot 39.5 percent. That'll do.

And on offense, the Jazz just moved the ball around and got open three-point looks. During the first quarter, those shots didn't go down. But then Rodney Hood got hot in the second quarter, and Hayward and Hill joined along.

A 3-point heavy offense will have stretches like that, where shots aren't falling and it looks really ugly. And to be sure, the Jazz bench didn't play particularly well during the bench's stint in the first (more on that later). But when they do start to go down, it's both pretty and fun. 16-31 3-point shooting over the aggregate more than makes up for the 2-10 first quarter.

Here you go...ALL SIXTEEN threes we knocked down tonight! 🎯🔥👌#TakeNote#DETatUTApic.twitter.com/xYn8QguKei — Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 14, 2017

We've talked about Joe Ingles' excellent 3-point shooting this season, but Hill's been fantastic all year, whenever he's been able to play. He's now shooting over 50 percent from behind the arc, a percentage that would lead the NBA if he had enough attempts to qualify.

And Hood's shooting was just ridiculous. 7-8 from downtown, and on some tough looks? It was impressive. Here's a fun stat: when Hood shoots over 30 percent from the field, the Jazz are 20-5 overall. So long as he's even average at knocking down the shots he gets, the Jazz are very difficult to beat.

2. Playing Dante Exum over Shelvin Mack

Let's be honest: every day is a good day when you're paid to watch basketball and have opinions on what you see. But some days, those opinions turn out to look pretty silly.

Earlier today, I wrote about how Shelvin Mack had deservedly beat out Dante Exum for playing time, based on Exum's poor play earlier in the season. And then I argued with people on Twitter, most of whom felt that Exum should be getting Mack's backup point guard minutes. I argued that Mack wasn't a great option, but he was the better option over Exum.

And then Mack came out to play in the first quarter and was terrible. He turned the ball over, took bad shots, was a turnstile on defense on straight-line drives, and wasn't finding his teammates in his 4:38. Quin Snyder had to put Hill back in the game sooner than usual, and things settled down.

But then when Hill needed a break, Snyder turned to Exum for his first real opportunity in a week, and his second game with minutes since Dec. 20, thanks to his knee tendonitis.

And Exum played really well! He didn't shoot well from 3, but got inside and finished his layup opportunities. And he played the best defense he played all season, staying in front of both Beno Udrih and Reggie Jackson for the most part. I was wrong, at least for tonight. And maybe in the larger scheme of things as well.

By the way, want to know one tip for finding out how good of defense Exum is playing on an individual night? Watch for how often he ends up switching onto a big when he doesn't need to. In his more troublesome defensive performances (I'm thinking especially about his matchups with Denver and Houston), he ends up switching often, because he gets beat at the point of attack and calls for the help. But if he's able to stay in front of his man, then he can use his length to contest any shots, drives, or passes really effectively.

Anyway, Snyder's said before that the primary thing he looks at when deciding who will play backup PG minutes is who is playing the better defense on the ball. Tonight, that was Exum, and I'd expect him to get those minutes tomorrow against Orlando as well.

3. Hustle play by Gordon Hayward

This play by Hayward was a turning point in the game: the Jazz only had a seven point lead, and Detroit had the ball, when they threw it in the backcourt for a turnover.

Hayward could have settled for the dead-ball turnover, but he noticed that the Pistons weren't chasing the ball and thought he could go get it. That led to the wide open three.

Every. Bit. Of. This. Gordon Hayward #NBAVotepic.twitter.com/sIIJQ4vkqZ — Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 14, 2017

It says something when your best player is willing to go chase those kind of loose balls. Props to Hayward on creating a great opportunity where others may not have.

And, as a side note, the Pistons should probably try harder. Stan Van Gundy, their coach, was not happy after tonight's game: "We can't stop anybody. We just can't," Van Gundy said. "I mean, we literally can't stop anyone ever."

I think it's time to expect some big changes from the Pistons during this trade deadline and offseason.

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