3 Keys to Success During the Jazz 2023-24 Season Opener vs. Kings

How can the Utah Jazz start off the new season with a win under their belt?

To open the highly anticipated 2023-24 NBA season, the Utah Jazz are tasked with a tough battle against the Sacramento Kings. Last year, the Kings saw a resurgence that took them to the three-seed in the Western Conference, along with their first playoff appearance in sixteen seasons.

While the Jazz get the benefit of starting the year at home in the Delta Center, coming out with a win will not be simple. The Kings are not the same team they’ve been throughout recent history. Led by 2023 Coach of the Year Mike Brown, Sacramento will be looking to build off their success from a season ago.

To take this squad down, it’ll come through finding success in a few central areas on both sides of the ball. Here are three keys the Jazz must focus on to start the franchise’s 50th season with a win: 

Utilize the Size Advantage

Throughout the last NBA season, the Jazz were one to frequently utilize substantially bigger lineups to outmatch their opponents with sheer length in size. Consistently running a frontcourt of F Lauri Markkanen, F Kelly Olynyk, and C Walker Kessler, the average height of these three averages out to be around 7’0, massively outshining the rest of the league.

A big hole within this Kings team (one that especially shined through last year’s postseason) was the lack of interior defense. While C Domantas Sabonis can be a great player, offensively and rebounding the ball, his presence as a defensive anchor has never quite been there throughout his career. Outside of the rotational centers, Alex Len and JaVale McGee, there is not much assistance for him either.

That lack of an interior presence was a large part as to what placed them 25th in the league in terms of defensive rating through the last regular season. For that side of the ball to continue to be exposed comes with investing in the strengths this team possesses Markkanen, Olynyk, and Kessler are all looking to get consistent shots at at rim, it will be a tough night to stop this paint-scoring.

Limit Perimeter Shots

One offensive aspect the Kings have proven to be a consistent threat from is their outside shot-making ability. Last season, they ranked top ten in the league in three-pointers shot and three-point percentage, while ranking in the top five in terms of threes made. After adding sharpshooters like G Chris Duarte and EuroLeague MVP F Sasha Vezenkov to the roster this summer, the effectiveness from long-range for this team doesn’t look to be going anywhere.

Combine this with an offense possessing impactful playmakers like Sabonis and G De’Aaron Fox, it makes a shooter’s job much easier. That elite ball movement and shot efficiency led this team to their number-one-ranked offense in league history just a season ago.

Therefore, to limit this team’s ability to dominate on the offensive side of the ball, it starts with diminishing the open looks. The Jazz have continued to have questions concerning their perimeter defense throughout the entire offseason, so tonight should be a great test to see how this group matches up with one of the league’s best units.

A Walker Kessler Defensive Masterclass

The Kings are an offensive juggernaut, so containing that consistent production this team showed all last season is crucial to seeking out a win on Wednesday night. Effectively, it puts a lot of weight on the shoulders of the defensive anchor of the Jazz: Walker Kessler.

The two guys to focus on containing tonight come down to the All-NBA duo of Fox and Sabonis. A great chunk of their success comes from their effectiveness in the paint. Fox has always been one to use his electric speed and finishing to get his looks at the rim in the pick-and-roll. Sabonis uses his post-work and playmaking ability close to the basket to generate efficient offense. Both are factors that Kessler will have to prevent for stops to stop going Utah’s way.

Kessler projects to have a massive year two with continued development under HC Will Hardy’s system, along with some run with Team USA this summer. It all starts with a shot to contain one of the best statistical offenses this league has seen in some time. 

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