Kings 130, Jazz 114: Four Key Takeaways

The Utah Jazz drop the first game of the year in Salt Lake City.

The Sacramento Kings dominated the Utah Jazz from start to finish in a 130-114 victory on opening night at the Delta Center. Harrison Barnes led all scorers with 33 points, with 27 coming in the first half. Jordan Clarkson led the Jazz with 24 points in a losing cause. 

The Kings scored the first seven points in the game and never looked back. Sacramento came out with more energy and created the open looks needed to cruise to the victory.

Jazz coach Will Hardy has plenty of work ahead of him in figuring out the best combinations on the court. Unlike last year’s opening night upset victory versus the Denver Nuggets, the Jazz looked lethargic for most of the night.

Let’s break down the key takeaways from opening night.

Offense Out of Sync

The preseason worries that the Jazz lacked a natural floor leader came to fruition on opening night. Talen Horton-Tucker started the game and didn’t do much to stake his claim as a permanent fixture moving forward. The offense looked out of sync for most of the game, lacking ball movement and a natural flow.

The Jazz have an overabundance of players who excel in creating their offense, but is there someone on the roster who thrives as a facilitator-first point guard? That’s what Utah is lacking early in the season.

Too Many Open 3’s for the Kings

Sacramento has a high-powered offense that will put up points regardless, but Utah didn’t do themselves any favors with their perimeter defense. Sacramento hit 18 three-pointers, with most of the makes coming uncontested. With the resistance that was put up beyond the arc, the Jazz were fortunate it wasn’t worse.

Utah's perimeter defense was a big problem last season, and the same issue reared its ugly head on opening night. It will need to be improved if Utah has any chance at the postseason.

Keyonte George Watch

The first-round pick out of Baylor had a decent debut in a Jazz uniform. George finished the contest with eight points on 3-for-5 shooting from the field while dishing out two assists.

George looked comfortable with the ball and has to be considered the favorite to take over the starting point guard job at some point this season. 

Jazz can Rebound

If a positive takeaway can be had in the blowout loss, Utah’s frontline of Walker Kessler, John Collins, and Lauri Markkanen are a force to be reckoned with on the boards. Despite the blowout loss, the Jazz outrebounded the Kings 54-45. The length is real, but the combination of Kessler and Collins on the floor together does create some spacing issues on the offensive end.

Jazz head coach has been encouraging Kessler to take the corner-three shot, but until he can prove he can knock it down, there will be questions if the Kessler-Collins combination is compatible in half-court offensive sets. 

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