Utah Jazz still have work to do to get ready for season opener

SALT LAKE CITY — One of the best things about preseason NBA basketball is it gives teams the chance to see where their strengths and weaknesses lie as they prepare for the long grind of an 82-game, six-month season. And for teams with championship aspirations like the Jazz, the exhibition contests offer the opportunity to implement strategies and tactics on both sides of the ball to see what is effective and what needs tweaking.

Based on their performance against the Sacramento Kings on Monday night — where they fell 128-115 — the Jazz still have some work to do in order to be ready for their opening-night game against Oklahoma City on Oct. 23.

The Jazz lost their third preseason game in a row and gave up at least 127 points in all three contests. That’s a lot of points and particularly troubling for a team that prides itself on promoting a “defense first” philosophy.

“We’ve got to be more determined on the defensive end. We had spurts where we guarded but that needs to be a focus for us.” — Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder

Jazz coach Quin Snyder said after the game that his team’s overall effort wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t at the level it needs to be to be competitive night after night in the stacked Western Conference.

“We’ve got to be more determined on the defensive end,” he said during his postgame press conference. “We had spurts where we guarded but that needs to be a focus for us.”

The Kings jumped out to an early lead with the Jazz playing catch-up before taking the lead briefly on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Jeff Green as the first period ended. Sacramento took over in the second quarter, building a double-digit advantage that they maintained for most of the game.

Snyder said despite the loss, he isn’t especially concerned that things can’t be corrected in time for their season opener next week. He noted how much better the team played defensively in the second half, yielding just 50 points compared to the 78 it surrendered in the first half (41 of which were scored in the second quarter alone).

Snyder said that kind of improved effort is indicative of how the Jazz can play.

“The way we came out in the second half is the way we have to play,” he said. “It takes work. It requires focus and we have to make every possession important with everybody doing their job and not having breakdowns as well.”

Snyder said the team strives to maintain consistent effort on both ends of the floor, but especially on defense. Looking ahead, he said the coaching staff will work to help the players find the mental edge that is needed to compete at the highest level during every game.

“I like the fact that it clearly bothered us (that we didn’t play well in the first half), but it needs to bother us more as the game is going on,” he said. “It needs to be a focus at the beginning of the game, the way it was in the first possession of the second half.”

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Guard Donovan Mitchell was unfazed by the team’s less-than-stellar play thus far in the preseason. He expressed confidence in the team’s ability to find its rhythm on offense and defense by the time the games begin to count.

“We’re showing the effort,” he said. “We just have to lock in and do the little things, and that just comes with getting to know each other and getting to know the defensive schemes and we’ll be in good shape.”

Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert was equally confident in the team’s ability to be ready for the start of the season.

“I’m not concerned,” he said. “I think from now (on), every game is going to be better. We’ve got to keep grinding and keep getting better every game.”

He said preseason can be hard to judge because there are so many players who aren’t familiar with the systems that are in place, but those issues can be corrected with patience and hard work.

“We have one more (preseason) game and a few more practices to keep getting better, and I have no doubt that we can … be one of the best defensive teams in the league,” Gobert said. “If we want to go where we want to go, we’re going to have to be that.”