SALT LAKE CITY — Three thoughts on the Jazz's 90-69 summer league loss from KSL.com's Utah Jazz beat writer, Andy Larsen.

1. Trey Lyles' bright start and bad finish

Playing on the fourth of July, Trey Lyles' first game as a non-rookie was a lot like a firework: he exploded early, then fell slowly back to earth. Lyles' first three minutes and 45 seconds were legitimately impressive, as he showed off his outside shooting and footwork for a 4-5 start with 11 points.

In the remaining 25 minutes of gameplay, he didn't make a single shot (0-5 overall) and added four turnovers. He was forcing his offensive game badly, and the Spurs' relatively experienced Kyle Anderson did a fantastic job of making him shoot tough shots.

The other worrying bit was Lyles' defensive game. The Jazz's biggest hope for Lyles' second season was an improvement on interior defense. Too often last year, Lyles just raised his hands, but kept moving backwards when opponents would drive on him, giving up relatively easy layups. The hope was that he would start to show off a new approach against lesser opposition; that wasn't the case.

We saw a lot of that tonight, and the Spurs scored 20 of 25 of their shots in the paint as a result. That certainly wasn't all Lyles' fault: a lot of them were due to the Jazz's communication mistakes, and you'd certainly understand those in the first game as a new team.

There are some positives. Despite his offensive and defensive game struggling, he stayed active on the boards, picking up 11 of the Spurs 31 missed shots. That's a great percentage. He dove for a loose ball. To his credit, he's taken on somewhat of a leadership role for Joel Bolomboy and the Jazz's other young bigs, which is good to see. It's not that Lyles doesn't care, but he's not applying himself in the all of the right ways right now.

It was a little bit worrying for the Jazz, who are currently counting on Lyles to play major minutes next season. He's still just 20 years old, though, tonight was a little reminder of that.

One other minor problem: at the Jazz's summer league training camp yesterday, I requested Lyles to speak briefly with the media. The request was granted, but Lyles said he had to leave early, and promised to speak after the game tonight. No big deal. Tonight, we again requested him to speak to the media, but again Lyles was gone quickly after the game. I (and the other members of the media!) would have loved to have asked the Jazz's biggest star at summer league some questions about his game tonight and his overall thoughts on the Jazz's situation, but unfortunately we were unable to. Sorry.

2. With point guard glut, Jazz start summer league with experience

With three drafted point guards on the summer league roster, I assumed one of the three would feature as the Jazz's starter at the position in the first summer league game. Instead, though, it was former Ohio State Buckeye Aaron Craft who got the start and played 21 minutes in the contest. Olivier Hanlan also started, though at the off-guard position. Jazz summer league head coach Johnnie Bryant cited Craft's experience in a game which may have given some players some first-game nerves, but said the starting lineup is very fluid moving forward.

Craft played well, shooting 4-7 from the field, and turning over the ball just once. He was probably Utah's most talkative player on the floor defensively.

Hanlan was impressive. Last year, Hanlan's poor summer league play gave him essentially no chance at making the Jazz's roster, so he chose to sign to play overseas in Lithuania. Since then, though, it seems like he's made strides in his game against pro competition. He's much more willing to take threes in rhythm, and did some nice work driving with the ball, then either finishing at the rim or kicking it out for open looks.

Marcus Paige is downright diminutive on the court, and occasionally, it looks like his jersey might just fall off, it's so baggy. But he did a pretty good job defensively despite his size, and stuck with the Spurs' PGs well. He finished just 2-6 from the field with three turnovers, though, losing the ball in traffic multiple times.

Tyrone Wallace matched his scouting report well: a big 6-foot-6 point guard, when he was able to get to the rim, he was able to finish. He picked up five rebounds, including two offensive ones, in 16 minutes of play. But from outside, he didn't shoot a three, and finished 3-8 overall from the field. There's something there, but he'll need to develop that shooting part of his game to stick.

3. Bolomboy has lots of fans, but struggles in first game

Weber State's Joel Bolomboy got a big ovation from fans when he checked in to the game in the first quarter along with Paige and Wallace, and fans yelled his name throughout, even with the Jazz down big in the fourth.

But Bolomboy never played well in his first contest, finishing just 1-5 from the field. He did shoot a three from the top of the arc, which was good to see: he feels confident enough to shoot it. But his form is a little bit jerky: he rises, gets to the top of his jump, then shoots with all wrist a beat later. The long release timing may make it easier for NBA-level opponents to contest his shot; it's something to watch moving forward.

I was also worried a little about his defense. Bolomboy was caught with his arms down and out of position too frequently, I thought, making opponents' forays into the paint too easy if he was a little bit off balance. Again, it's his first game, but he'll need to see what's coming a beat sooner and be ready for it to make it in coach Quin Snyder's defensive system.

Bolomboy noted that he had some first game jitters, so we may see a different performance tomorrow, when the Jazz take on the Boston Celtics at 5 p.m at Vivint Arena.

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