Review of the Utah Jazz-Memphis Grizzlies game: A loss on opening night puts momentum in this year's tank

The Utah Jazz officially kicked off the season with their home opener against Memphis. For those of you who were worried that the preseason successes might carry over into the regular season, rest assured: the Jazz are bad and the Tank is going according to plan.

The Memphis Grizzlies have truly come out of hibernation, moving into the Delta Center with a new roster that includes Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart – three players who struggled to avoid the injury monster during last season's hectic transition season.

For the Utah Jazz, this season's goals couldn't be more different than those of their opening opponent in Memphis, as the rookies, sophomores and everyone in between will focus on talent development at the expense of the win/loss ratio.

It's a hand-crafted season for Utah's basketball woes. For those of you who fall into this category, rejoice! For those who were hoping for a run in the play-in, it's time to lower your hopes to reasonable levels as the Jazz look to capture the flag, find an ace up their sleeve and set their sights on the NBA Draft.

In the meantime, Salt Lake City's top priority will be keeping the roster stable. The result of this game is a portent for the rest of the season.

Game review between Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies

Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images

The Grizzlies wasted no time in making an impact on the Jazz, with Ja Morant eager to take over after a 2023-24 year that was essentially a bust. And although Morant, Edey and Bane drew most of the attention at first glance, it was Santi Aldama who scored the most points with 15 points in the first half and 27 for the night and did most of his damage from beyond the arc caused.

Markkanen and Sexton delivered a strong one-two punch offensively, with the two Jazz men leading the way in scoring. Markkanen reminded the NBA why he was such a hot commodity on the trade market this offseason with an extremely efficient 32 points on 14 field goal attempts (have mercy).

Walker Kessler managed five blocks on the night, including four in the first half. The young big from Auburn is fighting to secure a spot in Utah's future, and its defense is carrying his weight. The starting commitment ahead of John Collins is a step in the right direction for the center's development, so I'm pleased to see him getting strong minutes after the jump.

As for the rising generation, we received a mixed bag of results from freshmen and sophomores on the depth chart.

Keyonte started slowly after that a great performance in the preseason. Starting 0-9 from the field wasn't ideal, but a solid assist-to-turnover ratio means he's still capable of handling the ball. 6 assists on the night is strong for the sophomore, but if his shot doesn't let up, we'd all like to see him step on the brakes and let the game come to him a little more.

While there will be off nights, limiting giveaways and keeping the ball moving will be key to minimizing the impact of poor performance in the future. Eventually, however, he found a bit of a groove and finished with 12.

Hendricks and Sensabaugh were also subdued in their speaking time. While Hendricks' defensive prowess is his hallmark, his offense exploded in the second half, with all 12 of his points coming in the second half. And even though Sensabaugh has limited minutes, he's fighting for a spot on a heavily saturated level of the depth chart.

A team flooded with young talent has the luxury of throwing enough players on the floor to see who will take off, and Brice was certainly hoping for a better opening performance than his meager 3 points in 12 minutes of play.

Flying in tow are the young talents of jazz – Williams, Collier and Filipowski. Collier and Flip never checked into this matchup, with Isaiah is out with a hamstring injury, and Filipowski is a coach's decision DNF.

Meanwhile, Cody remains somewhat timid, as he didn't record a single field goal attempt in his 19 minutes on the field and scored two points from the free throw line. Assuming he follows a similar trajectory to what we saw this summer, it could take Williams some time to adjust to the intensity of the NBA game. It's too early to worry after just one game.

A late crescendo

The story of this game revolves around the fight Utah showed in the final quarter. Even though they trailed from the first quarter, even a double-digit lead can't stop a Will Hardy-led team from exceeding expectations.

Until the end, the Grizzlies simply couldn't pull away from this tough Jazz team. Even though Utah ultimately failed, it didn't go down quietly in its opening loss of 124:126.

As you prepare for the future, finding the right balance between maintaining competitiveness and instilling habits of abstinence into your youth is paramount.

When Stars Hollow's Kirk Gleason finally had a positive date, he had no idea what to do if things went his way. Confused by the idea of ​​a successful evening with the opposite sex, Kirk froze. We can often see this look in the eyes of young players who have never experienced the feeling of a winning season.

Although Utah's surplus of young talent will contribute to numerous losses this season, coach Hardy's squad is playing to win and refusing to roll over and die as the Grizzlies took the lead in the first half.

It's going to be a long season for many, but tonight was a small step in the right direction for Utah.