Utah Jazz bring the noise, school Adelaide 36ers in NBL v NBA preseason tune-up
After Adelaide surprised them last year, Utah Jazz brought the noise and took the 36ers to school in their second preseason clash in Salt Lake City. Reece Homfray takes us inside the game and a big week for the 36ers.
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If Adelaide took Utah by surprise last year when they pushed them for three quarters, the Jazz saw the Sixers coming from all the way across the Pacific Ocean on Sunday and won their pre-season clash in Salt Lake City by 52 points.
The gulf between the $1 million and $118 million in total salary spend was plain for all to see when even Utah’s second-string team missing superstars Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley who were all rested, dominated to win 133-81.
The biggest cheer from the Utah crowd that had waited seven months for a game of basketball on their home court was when Ramone Moore missed both free throws and the packed house got free chicken in the last quarter.
But for Adelaide the experience of the pre-season trip to the US was never going to be defined by the result, rather what it would learn from its new combination on the court and the chemistry it would build off it.
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On the performance in Utah it is clear that Adelaide has found a rim protector in Eric Griffin.
He has serious athleticism and his four blocks, including the first that was so vicious he bulldozed his own teammate Brendan Teys who was collateral damage, signalled his intent.
Jerome Randle will change the team’s offence immensely. Not only is he a prolific scorer, he is a creator and his sideways passing to his shooters or his bigs on the pick and roll can take them from a 90-point per game team to 100 in the NBL.
Adelaide got 13 points out of Daniel Johnson but he didn’t have an impact. He was stripped of the ball, called for travelling (but wasn’t alone) and offensive fouls, but did make a half-court steal and followed Teys to the ring for a basket in the final quarter.
N🚫 EASY BUCKETS!#WeAreSixers | @EGRIFFDASTORY pic.twitter.com/8sKiaCqEEN
— Adelaide 36ers (@Adelaide36ers) October 6, 2019
Recruit Daniel Dillon is a creative playmaker on offence, finishing with 11 points against the Jazz, and looks more than reliable at the other end, playing as a guard and helping out the bigs on the glass.
Griffin said he was taking the game personally after the Jazz cut him two years ago and Randle had reason to as well when his name was misspelled ‘Randall’ on the official scoreboard.
He came out firing and was a big reason Adelaide led 18-16 before the Jazz shut them down for the rest of the quarter and led 28-18 at the first break.
Utah started raining down threes and quickly doubled their lead in the second quarter, then used their size to go inside with similar affect and led by 21 at half-time.
From there it was the Jazz by how far and they kept the foot on Adelaide’s throat, shooting 5/5 to open the third quarter with Joe Ingles getting involved from long range.
The Jazz was in cruise control in the last quarter, comfortably going coast-to-coast and dominating rebounds as they started their 2019-20 campaign with a crushing win.
It was almost as though the big week had caught up with the Sixers. The 4am wake-up and 5am airport check-in last Monday, the 24 hours of travel to Salt Lake City, three lost bags and one player left behind in Sydney while he sorted out his visa issues.
The first shock of the trip came less than 12 hours after touching down on US soil when players learned that former MVP Randle was coming back.
But that meant one player was going home after the Jazz game and rookie import Deshon Taylor was told he was being cut from the team by coaches Joey Wright and Kevin Brooks at 10pm in the hotel lobby.
Tuesday training was changed from 10am to 7.30pm to accommodate Randle’s arrival and as usual it was assistant coach Kevin Brooks who helped lighten the mood on the bus on the way to practice.
There was nothing awkward about Randle’s sudden arrival on the court, he got straight to work with his old team and it was like he never left.
“Pick it up, it’s too quiet in here,” Randle said to his teammates who were still recovering from jet lag.
By Wednesday players had found their voice and their legs which isn’t easy at 4300 feet above sea level.
“Hey, good job, there’s a lot more energy today,” Wright said.
Jack McVeigh — who excused himself from a team dinner the night before to catch up with Utah Jazz star Dante Exum who had a personal chef cook for them at his home — was his usual vocal self.
“Way to play through it, E, that’s good s**t,” he said to Griffin who was fouled on his way to the basket.
“Great hands, Drim”, “You’re a beast, Jerome”, “Yeah, go blue”.
RAAAANGE! 💦#WeAreSixers | @jerome_randle pic.twitter.com/wUgt9scUcx
— Adelaide 36ers (@Adelaide36ers) October 6, 2019
The players got their first look at Vivint Smart Home Arena for the trip on Thursday and as game day approached, no one gave the Sixers a chance of course, including the local couple at the Japanese restaurant the night before.
“We want to destroy you guys,” one of them said to an Adelaide official, half-serious half-joking.
On the morning of the game the players went through their usual routine which included a shootaround at the arena from 10am and when they were done, Wright called them in.
“Think about it — playing against the Jazz, we’re a team from Adelaide and make sure you have some fun tonight, show them your s**t, it’s a show.”
It was a show and while Adelaide showed up, it became clear very quickly that the two teams are in a different league.
The more pertinent question to be answered now is what can they achieve this season when they go back to their own?
UTAH 133 v ADELAIDE 81
Utah: Tony Bradley 18, Jeff Green 16, Royce O’Neale 12, Nigel Williams-Goss, 12. Adelaide: Jerome Randle 18, Daniel Johnson 13, Eric Griffin 12, Daniel Dillon 11)
reece.homfray@news.com.au