One Bad Quarter Hurts Jazz in Season Opener

The Utah Jazz fell to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday, 123-103. 

For the most part, it was an evenly matched game. The second quarter proved to be dismal for Utah, being outscored 35-20, blowing the game wide open.

Playing for his fifth team in eight NBA seasons, Memphis guard Ty Jerome exploded for 45 points, shooting a phenomenal 17-for-25 from the field, and mixing in logo 3-pointers. Fans have seen Jerome score efficiently throughout his entire career, even coming in third place for Sixth Man of the Year with the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2024-25 season. During that second quarter, Jerome only had six points.

Utah trailed by 13 at half, and their efforts in the second half were not enough.

Coach Will Hardy threw multiple bodies on Jerome. Keyonte George, Ace Bailey, Darryn Peterson and Svi Mykhailiuk all tried but failed to suppress the Memphis guard.

The narratives in the preseason came to fruition: lack of defense. After the game, Hardy said his guards had a hard time guarding Jerome in the high pick-and-roll. Fans assume that the defense is clinging onto shooters and forcing Jerome to give the ball up. Unfortunately for Utah, the Grizzlies did not shoot incredibly well from behind the arc.

Jerome went 5-for-10 from 3-point range. The rest of the starting lineup went 2-for-12 from 3-point range.

Off the bench, GG Jackson and Jerami Grant hit two 3-pointers each.

Just as fans anticipated, Utah got beat up on the boards, badly.

Memphis outrebounded the Jazz 55-38 on Wednesday night. Fifteen of those rebounds came on the offensive glass, as opposed to only five from Utah.

Jaxson Hayes, who filled in at center for an injured Jusuf Nurkic, only hauled in five rebounds in 26 minutes on the floor. Fans should not be pleased if their starting center can only grab five rebounds.

On the flip side, Hayes blocked six shots. Hardy was looking for another presence in the interior to aid Jaren Jackson Jr., and they may have found it with Hayes. Hayes uses his length and athleticism to beat other bigs to spots and bat balls away. But he needs to clean up the rebounding.

The Jazz's home opener is on Friday, when they face the New Orleans Pelicans. If they want to start on a good note at home, they can't have a 45-point outburst dumped on them again.

It is only the first game of the season. A game in October isn't going to make or break their season. But if the Jazz want to stack wins and make a run early in the year, they have to clean up their defense and rebounding.