Preseason Game 2: Jazz 92, Trail Blazers 89

ESPN Recap/Box

Quick Reaction:

This will forever be known as the night Jeremy Evans committed the most exciting offensive foul in the history of preseason basketball, as tweeted by @djjazzyjody. His fellow sophomore Gordon Hayward didn’t fare as well, fouling out with 3 points and 4 turnovers.

Rookie Enes Kanter (18 mins, 4 pts, 5 rebs) didn’t contribute much to the point total but stayed active and seemed to make things happen. I’m impressed with him, overall. He moves well for a guy his size and seems to know what he’s doing on the floor.

Fellow rookie Alec Burks (12 min, 1 pt, 0/8 shooting) couldn’t finish to save his life, but brought good energy. Burks didn’t want to hear any comparisons to Wesley Matthews, saying he (Burks) just wants to attack the basket every time and make things happen. His confidence is never lacking, which actually bodes well for a guy who will be asked to stay ready and be ready to attack in small stretches.

Jamaal Tinsley saw his first action as a Jazz player, finishing with six points, six rebounds, and three assists in just more than a quarter’s worth of playing time. Tinsley’s appearance led to a second-half stretch with newcomer Josh Howard sharing the court with Tinsley. On reputation alone it was an interesting post-Sloan sight to see, even though both players have been nothing but cordial and positive about being in Utah and seem to be great fits with the rest of the team.

On the Blazer side of things, it was interesting to see Jamal Crawford and Raymond Felton in Portland uniforms. Crawford finished with 12 points while Felton had 17. That’s 17 extra portions of the pre-game meal along with 17 points. Only one of those is true.

The announced attendance was 15,367, with the cranky crowd making plenty of noise for a preseason game. All things considered, the Jazz have to be happy with the turnout.

The Jazz get the next five days off before tipping off the season in LA against the Lakers on December 27.