Opening Night: The Only Way to Go is Up for Jazz

The Utah Jazz finished the 2025-26 regular season with a 22-60 record, which was good enough for 15th place in the Western Conference. Most of last season, coach Will Hardy was looking for answers. Tonight, he may have the chance to show how many they found over the offseason.

Utah opens the 2026-27 season on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Tipoff is at 8 p.m. ET. Tonight's meeting is between two teams that finished near the bottom of the West. The Grizzlies won three more games than Utah, going 25-57 and placing 13th last season.

Neither franchise reached the postseason, and both are hoping to do so with revamped rosters.

Hardy will hope that the team's defensive woes have been cleaned up. The Jazz scored 117.6 points per game last season but allowed 126.0, a minus-8.4 margin that sank them to the depths of the conference.

Memphis was by no means elite on defense either, giving up 120.7, but more than five points better than Utah's mark. 

If the Jazz are turning the corner, the first sign should be stops, not scoring.

They are all capable of making buckets, but if they want to be successful, Keyonte George and Lauri Markkanen need to make a stand. Both of them were among the worst individual defenders in the league.

Last season's series offers little help in predicting tonight. The teams split four meetings, and the results were volatile. Memphis won 137-128 in December, and Utah won back in Memphis with a 147-101 scoring barrage in April. Fans should expect to see a track meet tonight.

Jusuf Nurkic is out to open the season, which keeps the Jazz's frontcourt question a focal point. Kyle Filipowski and Brice Sensabaugh are listed day-to-day, so how Hardy uses his bigs could be the most telling adjustment.

There is extra juice for forward Jaren Jackson Jr. tonight. Memphis drafted Jackson in 2018, and he returns after being traded to Utah in February 2026. How he and the post-Kessler frontcourt handle their first real game together will say plenty about the direction interior defense is heading.

One night will not define a season.

Look at Tuesday's matchups. Boston Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum scored 13 points and shot 6-of-23 from the field. It is highly unlikely that it will become normal for him during the season.

Utah does not have long to wait for a second look from Memphis. The Grizzlies come to Delta Center on Oct. 26, giving the Jazz time to adjust. But after a year with 60 losses, the opener is a chance to set the tone and show the Jazz can win on the road.