Jazz 122 Rockets 113: 2 winners, 1 loser

The Utah Jazz started the preseason with their first game against an NBA opponent, a 122-113 win over the Houston Rockets. For Jazz, it was a story of two different halves. The Rockets took advantage of a slow start from the Jazz and took the lead 22:12 after the first quarter thanks to some cold shots from the Jazz.

After a quicker second quarter, the Rockets seemed to have the game under control, but the Jazz looked like a different team in the second half. Markkanen led a balanced Jazz attack with eight points in the third quarter, and the Jazz outscored the Rockets 39-22 in the third quarter and took an 88-84 lead early in the fourth quarter.

In the final quarter, the Jazz cruised to victory in a game that was ultimately decided by the reserves. Utah beat the Rockets 34:29 in the final period and secured the victory. Lauri Markkanen led the Jazz with 17 points, while Jordan Clarkson contributed 14 points. Johnny Juzang showed a strong performance after his first preseason game, scoring 12 points in just 12 minutes of play.

A few jazz musicians shone, another less so. Let's look at the winners and losers from Utah's win.

Second-year Jazz player Taylor Hendricks stood out for Utah. The 2023 lottery pick scored an efficient 10 points on 4-for-6 from the field while also knocking down a pair of three-point shots. Hendricks appears to have a firm grip on the starting power forward position and will look to build on an up-and-down rookie year.

Hendricks' path to earning more minutes on the court will be on the defensive side of the court. Utah needs a player who can give opponents more durability on the best wing than Jazz teams have in the past. It will be a trial by fire for Hendricks this year as he has to protect the best players in the league. One thing to keep an eye on is how he develops defensively.

Jordan Clarkson, Utah's longest-serving player, also performed well with 14 points and 18 minutes of playing time. The Jazz front office would welcome a hot start for Clarkson.

There are rumors that the former Sixth Man of the Year is on the trading block, but he will need to outperform last year to get his trade stock back to a level that justifies his contract. The better Clarkson plays, the more likely it will be his final season in Salt Lake City.

Utah's top pick in the 2024 draft looked completely out of sorts in his first preseason appearance against an NBA opponent. It's just one game, but Williams had trouble making his way into the action. Williams played a total of 27 minutes and only scored points through three free throws.

It's just a game and you can't tell too much from its performance. Additionally, unlike last year, the Jazz rookies will most likely log their minutes at the NBA level rather than the G League level.

Utah's next game is its first road game against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday. The meeting point is at 6:00 p.m. MT.

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