While the preseason didn't get off to an ideal start for the Denver Nuggets after suffering a 97-109 loss to the Utah jazz, they improved on that performance greatly with some revenge against the Jazz in their next matchup with a 117-106 victory that had head coach David Adelman far happier with the result.

Wins and losses may not matter in terms of the standings during preseason, but it is a crucial last step before the regular season begins to sand some final rough edges before games actually start to matter. 

That's why turning in good performances, both technically and for morale, is still crucial and why Adelman is more pleased to see a win instead of a loss. 

Still, Adelman still sees room for improvement, but can still praise the positives that he saw.

"It was better. It wasn't perfect by any means, but much better," Adelman said (via Altitude TV). "Full offensive half. Had some breakdowns one-on-one defensively, but much better system-wise as far as X outs and things that we've talked about doing... I was really proud of the young guys in the second half... long way to go."

The Nuggets' frontline talent hasn't been in much question, but a major key for the team is to have that frontline talent stay consistent throughout the game while being better supported by the role players coming off the bench at the same time. 

That wasn't the case nearly as often in the first game against the Jazz and the Nuggets did get off to a much hotter start in their win than they did in their loss.

Controlling pace became an issue for the Nuggets last season as games went on, particularly during the playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves, so watching that pace and coming out aggressively as they did against the Jazz are major pillar for the team to build on.

Forward Aaron Gordon was a clear standout in the win, leading the Nuggets with 18 points, and while both center Nikola Jokic and guard Jamal Murray were kept quiet, combining for just 10 points, their production won't be under much scrutiny until the regular season begins.

Guard Alpha Diallo and forward Marvin Bagley III and Cam Whitmore all tunred in impressive performances off the bench, being some of the "young guys" that Adelman referred that stayed consistent in the second half, which bodes well for Denver's depth, which has been in question at times.

As Adelman stated, there's still a lot of work to be done before the team will feel regular season ready, but the step they took as a team by beating the Jazz and playing far more together than they had to open the preseason, so there has at least a step forward, not backward.