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Jazz coach Will Hardy used the terms "ugly" and "clunky" to describe large moments of Utah's second preseason games, a 103-98 loss to the LA Clippers in Seattle. That type of game probably was a bit expected on both sides.
The teams just had a week-long training camp (albeit on the beautiful shores of Oahu), and then flew across the ocean for another game in a unique place. That partially explains the bad shooting (the Jazz shot 40%, the Clippers 38%) and the overall fatigue that was present Tuesday.
The Jazz trailed by as many as 19 points before Talen Horton-Tucker caught fire, scoring 22 of his 24 points in the second half to lead a comeback that came up short.
If there's anything the Jazz aren't lacking after two preseason games, it's point guards who can cook the Clippers' deep bench guys.
Any other takeaways? Here's what Hardy addressed after the game:
The rotations
Yes, the Jazz have started the same five-man lineup in both preseason games. No, that doesn't mean that will be the group starting the regular season. Saturday's game, though, could be more revealing.
"As a staff, these next three days at home are going to be important to really kind of put our flag in the sand and say, 'Hey, this is how we're going to go at the beginning of the year,'" Hardy said.
The first week of camp and the first two games have featured a lot of different lineups as the team has tried to figure out who plays best where and with whom. But, as Hardy said, the time is coming to get some chemistry among lineups, and that's not just for starters.
"For us, it's about maximizing the entire 48 minutes and not having a lull where a group doesn't quite work," Hardy said.
Hardy pointed out that the lull could very well be in the first few minutes of the games, so that's the first problem to solve, but far from the only one.
"This is the NBA," he said. "These guys are all really good. We've just got to figure out how to best fit them together."
Where THT is at his best
Horton-Tucker didn't get off to an inspiring start. Getting his second straight start, he was just 1-for-5 in the first half, and the Jazz trailed by 10 points at halftime.
The second half was a different story.
Horton-Tucker got into the lane with ease, hit some fadeaway jumpers, and even made a spinning layup just for fun. If nothing else, it was entertaining.
There's this caveat though: It was mostly against the Clippers' end-of-bench players. Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Ivan Zubac and Russell Westbrook didn't play in the second half. Meanwhile, Marcus Morris Sr., Norman Powell and Brandon Boston Jr. didn't suit up at all.
So was it just a matter of playing against lesser competition? That's, obviously, a part the equation, but not all of it.
"Talen is at his best one-on-one in a lot of space," Hardy said. "He's very hard to keep in front of because of his athleticism, his strength, his size. With that second group playing with a little bit more space, he was able to generate some downhill penetration to the rim."
Hardy said the Jazz need to figure out better ways to get him those chances when things slow down in a half-court setting. The best way to do that, Hardy said, is to bring perimeter players to him, not bigs. But Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler not being heavily involved in the offense is not what the Jazz have in mind.
"Who fits with the frontcourt is massively important to the decisions that we're going to make," he said.
Horton-Tucker, then, might not be the best fit for the starting group.
Fitting in John Collins
The Athletic's John Hollinger had a few quips about how the Jazz were using John Collins Tuesday.
"John Collins completely, utterly uninvolved in the first five minutes. Like he never left Atlanta!," he posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Later, he followed it up with: "1. Trade for John Collins 2. Have him stand in the corner 3. ????? 4. Profit."
So does he have a point? Well, Collins was just 1-for-6, and half his shots were from 3-point range.
However, Hardy sees a much more diverse role for the athletic forward. The Jazz coach pointed to the difference in offensive style between Atlanta to Utah. With Atlanta, Collins was either in a pick-and-roll or standing in a corner to space. The Jazz run a much more motion-based system with a lot of ball action — a system Hardy thinks Collins will thrive in.
It'll just take some time.
"I think it's just the understanding and freeing his mind up that you're not going to be just in one spot on the court," Hardy said. "It's on me and our staff, but it's on me to make sure that I'm keeping it narrow enough, especially early in his time with us, that it's not distracting and confusing where he's got to remember 14 different things."
