Two days after a 1-for-5 debut, Darryn Peterson walked into the Delta Center for the first time as a Jazz player and scored 23 points on 10-of-18 shooting. He led everybody on the floor.
The Jazz still lost, 117-106, in front of 13,959, and the loss had little to do with him. Utah committed 36 fouls, Denver shot 42 free throws to the Jazz's 22, and the game spent most of the night stopped at the line.
It's preseason, so here's what we think was real.
First, who was missing
This was a thinner Jazz team than Sunday's. Lauri Markkanen sat with neck soreness, and Jusuf Nurkić (foot), Brice Sensabaugh (hip), and Kyle Filipowski (back) were out too. Ace Bailey and Jaxson Hayes moved into the starting five next to Peterson, Keyonte George, and Jaren Jackson Jr.
Denver got Jamal Murray back, and its starters played the first half before sitting, per The Denver Gazette. So this was half a real game, and the Jazz were missing their best player for it.
Peterson answered
Before the game, Will Hardy said what a lot of us were thinking after Sunday, per The Salt Lake Tribune:
"I think Darryn wasn't himself in the first game. That's not the Darryn we've seen during camp. I think he was caught in between; sometimes, when you're trying to be perfect on every play and you don't want to screw up, you can be a little frozen."
Then Peterson went out and played free. Twelve points in the first half, 23 by the time his night ended in the third quarter, and an alley-oop to Mo Bamba for good measure. The damage came inside the arc: 9-of-12 on twos, most of them pull-ups from the elbow and the midrange. He was 1-of-6 from three.
The fans who watched it were not subtle. From the r/UtahJazz postgame thread:
"Loved watching DP just walk his man to the elbow like Stockton used to and then rise up and bury it. 10/10, will watch again."
And from the game thread, a line we're going to steal: "The demise of Darryn was greatly exaggerated from the other day."
Peterson himself was more measured than all of us, per Jazz On SI:
"Still got a lot of room to improve. I watched film after the last game. Made a couple of the wrong reads. Got to watch some after today. Hopefully, I made the right ones today. But, yeah, it's all a work in progress."
Not everyone came away sold. SLC Dunk's Grant Nielson said he was "wowed by his talent in shot-making" but "slightly worried regarding how limited he looks as an athlete when matched up with NBA players," because Peterson often had to settle for tough shots when his driving lane was walled off. Hardy pointed at something similar, per the Deseret News: Peterson is "still adjusting to the length as it relates to closeouts," and passed up a few threes he could have taken.
Our take: we asked for patience on Monday, and we're not going to take a victory lap after one good game any more than we'd panic after one bad one. But the thing we wanted to see was a rookie playing like himself, and that's what this was. The three-point shot and five fouls are the work. Making tough twos at 19 is the talent, and that part isn't going anywhere.
The real story: 36 fouls
The Jazz were great for a quarter. They led 31-24 after 12 minutes, holding Denver to 2-of-11 shooting to start. Then the second quarter went 41-28 Denver, and the whistle never stopped.
| Fouls | FT made-attempted | |
|---|---|---|
| Jazz | 36 | 12-22 |
| Nuggets | 28 | 30-42 |
Box score via NBA.com.
The foul trouble hit exactly the guys the Jazz needed on the floor:
| Player | Min | Fouls |
|---|---|---|
| Keyonte George | 12:47 | 5 |
| Darryn Peterson | 29:37 | 5 |
| Jaren Jackson Jr. | 15:41 | 4 |
| Josh Okogie | 24:52 | 4 |
George had five fouls in under 13 minutes. That's how a team loses its point guard, and its rhythm, in a game it led after one.
Hardy put it plainly, per the Deseret News:
"We've got to be a little bit more disciplined with our hands playing the switching style when we're playing that defense. You've got to be sound with your hands and can't grab. It's really hard to play basketball when the other team's in the bonus for seven and half minutes in a quarter."
Part of this was Denver. One fan in the game thread laid out what kept happening: the Nuggets ran Jokić into switches until a small guard was on him at the elbow or the post, then drew the foul. The Jazz didn't stop doing it, and Jokić, per The Denver Gazette, even picked up a technical out of frustration with the smaller defenders pestering him.
Our take: the effort was there. The Jazz were trying to be physical, which is what a team that ranked 29th in defensive rating last season needs to be. But "physical" and "grabbing" are different things, and good teams will hunt that switch all season. This is the most fixable problem from the game, and the most important one to fix.
Signal: the Hayes and JJJ frontcourt
With Nurkić out, Hayes started at center next to Jackson, and the early defense was the best stretch of the night. Hardy liked it, per the Deseret News:
"Their size I think gives us a little bit of an anchor defensively. They'll have to do it differently than maybe some other rim protectors do in the NBA. Everybody's built a little bit differently, but I think those two together has the chance to be pretty good on the basket."
Jazz fan @Callystarr on X went further: "Hayes gave me some really nice glimpses defensively. If he can get the offense down, I think he has a strong chance of taking that starting job from Nurk." The same post had a fair warning about Jackson: "Memphis fans warned us that J3 would frustrate us with silly fouls, and tonight was definitely one of those nights."
Our take: Nurkić still starts when he's healthy, but this is a real option against teams that space the floor. The catch is that Jackson can't help from the bench, and if those Memphis fans are right, four fouls in 15 minutes won't be the last time.
Ace keeps doing Ace things
Bailey started and finished with 10 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists. The shot wasn't there (4-of-12), and Hardy even tried him at center for a stretch. The defense was. Nielson described one possession where Bailey switched onto Jamal Murray and "moved his feet like an All-Defense type of player."
Our take: two games in, Ace's defense has been the most consistent thing on this roster. That's how he earns 30 minutes a night once everyone is healthy.
What Denver saw
The Denver side mostly talked about its own bench. SI's Nuggets site named Alpha Diallo, Julian Strawther (15 points, 3-of-4 from three), and Cam Whitmore as the risers, and Denver's bench outscored Utah's 74-53, per the Jazz's own recap.
But Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette gave us the line of the night from the other side:
"The Jazz are going to give the Nuggets some problems sooner than later."
He added that "Starting guards Keyonte George and Darryn Peterson look like a couple of young stars," and noted the Nuggets still haven't seen their full starting five against Utah's. Murray sat Sunday, and Markkanen and Nurkić sat Tuesday. They'll get the real thing in the regular season.
What we're watching Monday
The Spurs come to the Delta Center on Monday, Oct. 12 (7 p.m. MT, Jazz+).
- Markkanen's neck and Nurkić's foot. We still haven't seen this team whole.
- Fewer than 30 fouls. Same switching scheme, cleaner hands.
- Peterson's three. He's passing up open looks. We want him to let them fly.
- Whether Hayes keeps his spot if Nurkić is still out.
One game ago, people wondered if the rookie was ready. He is. Now the rest of the team has to stop sending Denver to the line.
Take note.
Sources: Utah Jazz / NBA.com, Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret News, Jazz On SI, SLC Dunk via Yahoo Sports, The Denver Gazette, SI Nuggets, @Callystarr on X, and the r/UtahJazz game and postgame threads. Box score via NBA.com.