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The Utah Jazz dropped to a disappointing 1-3 record Monday night with a 110-102 loss to the Denver Nuggets.
But was that a smile from Walker Kessler? And a chuckle from Lauri Markkanen? And did Will Hardy look at least a little pleased? Was there, dare we say it, some relief after a loss?
The NBA isn't a league of moral victories, but sometimes growth comes in defeat. That's what happened Monday for the Jazz.
Utah has had a rough start, with the low point being crushed by undermanned Phoenix Saturday. There's been head-scratching offensive execution and confused defensive possessions. It's been the exact opposite of last season when the Jazz stormed out of the gate and distinguished themselves as the fun, never-say-die underdog.
The NBA season, though, is a long one, and if you're looking for a reason to be optimistic that the team can turn things around, the second half in Monday's game is a good place to start.
Why? Well, it's a long list
Utah had 19 assists after halftime, held Denver to just 22 points in the third quarter, and the starting five had its best stretch of the season (that group went on a 20-11 run against Denver's starters).
There's more: Kessler got going with a 15-point second half, the defensive communication was immensely improved, which allowed Utah to cut a 17-point lead down to 5 multiple times in the fourth quarter.
In the end, there was too much Nikola Jokic (27 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists) to complete the comeback, but the Jazz made the defending champs play a full four quarters after it looked like it would be a runaway.
That was progress.
And with the strong showing, Utah created a template on how it can compete against the best in the league.
"The competitiveness, the willingness to share the ball and make early decisions with it, that's who we have to be to be an effective team," Hardy said. "For me, there are way more positive things coming out of tonight than negative."
Markkanen had 27 points and 14 rebounds as he continues to prove that last season was no fluke. His 12-point third quarter was a catalyst to the Jazz getting back into the game. Markkanen went 5-of-13 from the 3-point line — he found ways to get up those shots despite the Nuggets attempting to limit them. And he also attacked the rim, finished putbacks and fought for rebounds.
"He's playing with more and more physicality on the offensive end every day," Hardy said. "He's really doing a good job in terms of his growth and reading different defenses. Denver guarded him differently than the first couple of teams have guarded him."
John Collins had 15 points and nine rebounds and just missed continuing his double-double streak.
With Markkanen's and Kessler's (22 points and 13 rebounds) big night, it was a strong showing from a front court that has taken some time to figure things out together. Those three need to be the strength of the team if Utah is to compete for a playoff spot this season. On Monday, it was, and they showed just how competitive they could be … at least in one half.
The next step: doing that for an entire game. Oh, and getting a win, too.
"We hear it a lot, but I think we're gonna win a lot of basketball games if we compete like we did in the second half," Markkanen said. "We've just got to be able to bring it from the start. They're the champions for a reason, and we showed what we can do as a team. We've got the heart, we're never going to stop fighting, and we're going to win some of these games. But I think it's a learning process to kind of play a full 48 minutes."
