Can Jazz survive tough times this season? They did that on Monday against Houston

Three thoughts on the Utah Jazz's 122-113 victory over the Houston Rockets from Salt Lake Tribune Jazz beat writer Andy Larsen.

1. Overcoming bad periods of play

Look, we all know that's how it's going to be this season significant Sections where Jazz is struggling. In the first nine minutes of this game, the Jazz scored a total of four points. The truth of the piece was probably even uglier.

It would be very easy for this team in general to respond poorly when faced with this adversity and the 18-4 score. They're expected to be knocked out by the better teams in the NBA – they might just give up. Negative frustration would also be understandable, be it with each player or even between teammates.

Tonight they didn't. They fought through the difficult period, started to play better defense, found some rhythm, ran in transition and got back into the game. In the end, it wasn't a close battle: the Jazz had a victory.

Of course, there are caveats: The Rockets didn't play with all of their players, they started using substitutes late in the second half, and nothing matters in the preseason.

But I think there's a world in which this is a completely lost season: in which the Jazz are not only a terrible basketball team, but also learn nothing from the experience. In my opinion, continuing to fight in dark situations allows you to learn more.

“Because there are a lot of new guys, some of them just entering their second year, we're trying to build that cohesion mentally,” Jazz head coach Will Hardy said. “There will be some ups and downs along the way, but I thought tonight would be a good moment for them to take the message, say it themselves and then start implementing it.”

2. Upswing among young people

Cody Williams played more than any other player on the floor tonight, a total of 26:51. He collected a rebound. Taylor Hendricks started and played 23:04 and collected three rebounds. Brice Sensabaugh played 19:37 and collected seven rebounds. I don't want to put too much emphasis on rebound box scores in a game – it's so, so random where the balls bounce on any given night.

However, I would like to highlight Sensabaugh's approach as particularly promising. Tonight I thought he legitimately attacked the glass and grabbed some deep rebounds against some players who love getting offensive putbacks like Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams.

Before the game, he talked about how this ball-hawk approach was something he wanted to focus on this year and, as he put it, “wanting to touch the ball as much as possible on both ends of the field.” For him, that meant rebounds, steals and assists, not necessarily scoring.

I think Williams and Hendricks could benefit from the same attitude at times as they tend to wobble in and out of games. Much of the online discussion tonight was about Sensabaugh, and that's because he found a way to chime in throughout.

3. Johnny Juzang, interesting player?

Johnny Juzang was not just a 3-point shooter in college, but a dynamic all-around scorer. Hardy said he was the reason for Juzang's turnaround.

“He and I had a very focused discussion about how I envisioned him making it in the NBA and what I thought his path might look like, and he worked really hard on it,” Hardy said. What kind of vision was that?

“I told Johnny that if he could make it as a 3-point threat, I thought that based on his shooting ability and his conditioning that it would be his path. 6-foot-5, 6-foot-6, jack-of-all-trades type is a dime a dozen; That doesn't mean you can't be a great player. But with the position Johnny held on our roster when he came to the NBA, he had to excel. He had to be different from the other players somehow.”

Juzang did this: He reshaped his game to become a shooter first and foremost.

Recency bias is real. The same goes for theaters with small sample sizes. But besides, Johnny Juzang has made eight of his last ten threes, so is he the best shooter in the NBA?

That's the tricky thing about evaluating players who contribute primarily by shooting the ball from deep – the difference between a 33 percent shooter and a 38 percent shooter is just one more shot every 20 shots is made. Therefore, you would really rather have 750 shots to get a strong enough sample size about whether a player can shoot well or not. Only one player shot as many three-pointers last season: Steph Curry.

In his entire basketball career, Johnny Juzang shot 1,015 three-pointers. (He has 140 in the NBA regular season, 64 in the NBA Summer League, 18 in the NBA preseason, 332 three-pointers in the G League regular season, 127 in the G League Showcase, 10 in the G League playoffs, and 324 in NCAA play.) He made 37.3% of them. That's pretty good!

Of course, it's also possible, perhaps even likely, that Juzang improved as a shooter through practice. I watch him warm up quite often, and visually he's an excellent shooter: he compares extremely well to the other young members of the Jazz. (Markkanen is definitely the Jazz's best shooter, which surprises no one.)

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