Few people expected to see the Utah Jazz win their opening game on Wednesday night.
Firstly, the team is obviously rebuilding under the leadership of Danny Ainge.
During the last few months, they have traded away many big assets, including Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert.
It seemed like the team was ready to tank.
Additionally, they were playing against the Denver Nuggets on their opening night and that team is poised to have a resurgence this year.
Yet, the Jazz shook the entire NBA world when they took down the Nuggets 123-102 in a wild stunner that left a few jaws on the floor.
Utah looks horrible at tanking.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) October 20, 2022
This was certainly not expected.
As Tim Reynolds put it, “Utah looks horrible at tanking.”
So, is this really going to be a rebuilding year for the Jazz or are they far better than expected?
The Jazz? Really?
There were seven Jazz players who scored double-digits on Wednesday, including Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, Rudy Gay, and Malik Beasley.
And while Nikola Jokic of the Nuggets put up 27, many of his supporting stars weren’t feeling it.
Even Jamal Murray only scored 12.
At the end of the day, the Jazz wanted this win more and they played as if their entire season was on the line.
Is this the sort of Utah team we should expect moving forward?
It’s surprising to see them start so strongly but did people truly expect the team to lay down from the very beginning in hopes of a good draft pick?
No matter what the front office desires, the players on the Jazz want to win because they’re true competitive athletes.
They might still end up tanking this season – this opening night game could be a highlight fondly remembered months from now when they sit far below .500.
But there is also a chance that maybe too many people counted the Utah Jazz out.
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