Utah Jazz rookie Cody Williams is having his best games against the San Antonio Spurs

Three thoughts on the Utah Jazz's 126-120 loss to the San Antonio Spurs from Salt Lake Tribune Jazz beat writer Andy Larsen.

1. Cody Williams' best preseason action game

The priority in tonight's game was the young players. Of course, that will be the case all season long, but it's especially the case in a game where the Jazz simply had to give Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson, John Collins and Patty Mills a break.

So who stood out? Cody Williams. After three early preseason games in which he scored a total of 13 points, Williams scored 17 points Saturday night — 6-10 from the field, 3-4 from three. He also added five rebounds and two assists in his 29 minutes on the court.

(By the way, kudos to the highlight reel makers for showcasing the good plays and the bad plays. Holistic player evaluations are great!)

A few things stood out. Firstly, the 0:27 result above shows what I believe to be William's most outstanding skill at the moment: his ability to finish in traffic despite his slim frame. This level of creativity and skill is pretty rare, but Williams doesn't force it either. He's no Talen Horton-Tucker.

Second, 3-point shooting. Yes, it is a small sample size. But we've talked about this a lot: Shooting is the super skill in the current NBA meta. The fact that Williams is getting the majority of his performances tonight is a very good sign.

A topic of conversation this preseason has been improving players' consistency – making sure their bad games at least have an impact in other ways. Williams can definitely develop that further, but having quality games is perhaps just as important for rookies.

2. Collin Sexton's shot selection

After Keyonte George left that game with the knee sprain he suffered against the Mavericks, Collin Sexton became the leader in the backcourt. (Rookie Isaiah Collier was named to the starting lineup, but left the game himself with a right hamstring injury, which should also be monitored.)

And when he gets those opportunities, I just want him to better embody what Will Hardy wants from his offense right from the start.

His very first shot of the game goes in.

But it's a pull-up midrange shot at the start of the shot clock that is contested by one of the Spurs' best defenders, Jeremy Sochan. The “No One Outpizzas The Hut” commercial hadn’t disappeared from the screen when he filmed it.

His next game was even faster; It was recorded with 16 seconds on the shot clock.

It's going in again! This is, in a way, an insult! But in this role as team leader, Sexton should simply prioritize the things his team has been working on in training camp, or at least get the ball to get his teammates going. Instead, these recordings set a different tone.

Sexton undoubtedly sets a good tone in another way: he is legitimately the hardest-working jazz player, always in the gym working on something. As a result, he had his best year ever last season. But for him to be a point guard, a leader and the type of player the Jazz want to put in the starting lineup, he simply needs to play more with the team construct in mind.

3. Watch Jazz and Utah Hockey Club with SEG+

While the Jazz were going through their preseason, the Utah Hockey Club got off to a pretty remarkable start to the regular season. They are now 3-0, including two overtime wins. Early returns also suggest that this may be a team that is the most fun to watch: new, young and as good offensively as it is defensively weak.

However, the teams' last two games overlapped. As for me, for now I'll watch the Jazz game on the big TV in my living room while I watch the Hockey Club game (the Clubbies, some say?) on my laptop. Honestly, the small second screen configuration isn't ideal. For the first time in my life, I'm considering a second TV in the room, which previously seemed like a ridiculous extravagance.

However, I would like to give Ryan Smith the credit he deserves here: SEG+ was a really great product in this regard. The ability to watch both leagues' games on a second screen allows me and us to do this in a way that simply wouldn't have existed in the pre-streaming era. For years, fans complained about the lack of streaming options for Jazz games, and his team actually delivered with this product. (The added ability to rewind this year also made a big difference.)

Some points for improvement: The UHC transmission has constantly had audio problems of one kind or another and it would be great to fix these. It would also be very, very nice to watch either Jazz or Hockey Club games on YouTube TV; Utah 16 should also be on Comcast.

Finally, Smith is right: a button to switch between the two games would be great if you want to watch them on the go.

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