Can you feel it? The change in the seasons, the page flip of the calendar, the insatiable urge to spout some nonsense like “here are 5 reasons why Walter Clayton Jr. will be the Rookie of the Year” or
“We’re about to witness vintage T-Wolves era Kevin Love this season”? The air carries a distinct chill. Jackets are thickening. Leaves throughout the northern hemisphere are publicly perishing — the world rejoices.
Those are the signs, and this is your final warning. The NBA season is upon us. There is nothing we can do. Abu Dhabi and Melbourne have already been struck by American pro hoops. From Denver to Oklahoma City: this is basketball season. If you’re choosing to watch playoff baseball at the expense of the action on the hardwood, I recommend you get your life in order.
The Utah Jazz play basketball this week. Of course, if you attend East High School in Salt Lake City, you already knew that (hi there, Vanessa Hudgins). But it’s true. It’s real. While the preseason may not be real basketball, so far as the games aren’t especially competitive, rotations aren’t always serious, and no, it isn’t exactly appointment viewing, it’s still basketball, and my cravings must be satiated.
Finally, the speculation season is dead. Finally, Kevin Love’s mustache is on full display in high definition. Finally, I can watch basketball and stain my brand new pants with J-Dawg sauce simultaneously. This is the American dream: life, liberty, and the pursuit of crappiness (also known as the tanking era of Utah Jazz basketball).
Utah has more youngsters on their team than the poor sons of guns that had to face off against Air Bud. The combination of Kyle Anderson and Brice Sensabaugh is a twisted conglomeration of pure slowness enough to make you think your television was swimming in honey. Cody Williams added 15 pounds of muscle onto his already stacked frame (sounds like the Jazz have an enforcer?). Ace Bailey’s shoes may appear to be enhanced with flubber, and Lauri Markkanen will, at times, seem to have been juicing with Michael’s Secret Stuff (for legal reasons, the last two were jokes).
No, this team will not be playing to win the game. Apologies to Herm Edwards. But they’ll be playing a different game altogether. If you know what to watch for, you may somehow find it rewarding to watch one of basketball’s worst teams play 82 regular-season games. It’s not about the point totals. It’s not about the box scores. No, it’s not even about trade value. Ask yourself the right questions, and you’ll be fulfilled watching the Utah Jazz this season.
Our scientists have researched. Our mathematicians have calculated. Our lion tamers are… working on it. Our lawyers have advised us to share no further. With all this work, we’ve been able to formulate three key questions facing the Utah Jazz for the following season. Scribe these onto your hearts, tattoo them on the small of your back, and you’ll have the ideal viewing experience game-in and game-out.
Question 1: Which young players have improved the most?
I don’t need to sway you on this one: this is the question for the Utah Jazz this season. Ace Bailey and Walt Clayton (and John Tonje, technically) are this season’s batch of rookies. Ace could be Utah’s star of the future. Clayton may already be the best point guard on the roster. For those two, the question is how they adjust to the NBA game. What skills are translating? What needs work?
For the second and third-year bunch, it’s all about improving from last season. Cody Williams was putrid in his rookie year. Was a solid Summer League a positive indicator?
Isaiah Collier shoots the rock like it’s an actual boulder. Can he find some touch at the rim and become something that resembles a passable shooter?
Keyonte George needs to boost his consistency and offensive efficiency. If his game matures and he learns to pick his spots better, can his percentages inflate?
So many names with so many questions on this edition of the Utah Jazz, but for the youth tsunami striking the Utah coast (a beautiful region this time of year), everyone has something to prove. So with a greater sample size and some seasons under their belt, who’s proving what?
Question 2: Which players are moving the Jazz in the right direction?
The Jazz, though they’re still a few eons from playing competitive basketball, are on the hunt for players that are real, NBA-quality producers. The type of players that would dominate ESPN if they were donning purple and gold instead of — well, purple and not gold.
…Man, purple is a weird word. Curse you, semantic satiation.
Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler are — at least as far as we can tell — the only sure-thing guys on this team that aren’t veteran filler (no disrespect intended, Georges Niang). The future of this team can be seen in the eyes of players like Taylor Hendricks, Kyle Filipowski, and Brice Sensabaugh. So who’s making their presence known? Who are Utah’s faces of the future? Maybe we’ll get some insight this year.
Question 3: Are you having fun?
Now this is the operative question. At the end of the day, basketball is a game, and games are fun (I recite a similar mantra on the golf course constantly). So, when you watch the Jazz, your expectations are certainly lower. Your hopes are six feet under by tip-off. You know that Utah won’t be wowing you with flawless teamwork, magnificent highlights, or even a winning record.
So why are you watching?
Because you love basketball. You love the squeak of sliding sneakers on the polished hardwood. You love the snap of the net as the ball soars through the cylinder. You love rim-rattling dunks, volleyball spike rejections, gorgeous needle-threading feeds to a loose off-ball cutter. Basketball is more than just 10 strangers wearing goofy colors and throwing around a ball — it’s a sanctuary. It’s a shot of excitement. It’s art on live television, and you want to be there to witness every brushstroke.
So when you fire up the television and see the J-Note flash across your screen, ask yourself: are you having fun?
Calvin Barrett is a writer, editor, and prolific Mario Kart racer located in Tokyo, Japan. He has covered the NBA and College Sports since 2024.
