We practiced really hard yesterday, testing our depth, so the game presents itself as an opportunity for a lot of guys to contribute. – Quin Snyder
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz will play their second game in three nights against a team without NBA-caliber players, but that’s fine with the coaches and players, who are happy to play against different competition.
After defeating the Sydney Kings from Australia 108-84 Monday night, the Jazz will take on Israel's Maccabi Haifa of the Euroleague Wednesday night (7 p.m.) at Vivint Arena.
“Preseason games are for getting to know each other,” said Jazz point guard Ricky Rubio. “We know it’s preseason and are more focused on ourselves than the other guys we’re playing against. They have great players — it’s going to be a fun game.”
Coach Quin Snyder said he didn’t know if Maccabi would be a step up from Sydney, but said, “It’s another game that will test us. We’ll play hard and learn more about ourselves and you always want to win.”
The Jazz will be without two players who played well in the opener on Monday. Rookie Donovan Mitchell, who scored 11 points Monday, missed practice with tightness in his right hamstring Tuesday, while Raul Neto, who scored seven points, will sit out with tightness in his left quad. Snyder said it's more for precautionary reasons than anything and both players are fine.
That will give more opportunities for other Jazz players such as Alec Burks and Royce O’Neal, who got into the game in the fourth quarter, as well as players like Nate Wolters and Taylor Braun, who didn’t play.
“From a numbers standpoint, we had planned on doing that anyway,” said Snyder. “We practiced really hard yesterday, testing our depth, so the game presents itself as an opportunity for a lot of guys to contribute.”
After Wednesday’s game, the Jazz will play the Phoenix Suns Friday night at home before heading out on the road for a pair of games at Phoenix and Los Angeles next week.