The Utah Jazz probably won’t be as good as the Houston Rockets. There’s a good chance neither will make the playoffs, but if one team wants to and the other wants to play “Capture the Flag” there may be a difference, but tonight showed that maybe not is so big.

After the Jazz started with the same preseason lineup they had against the Breakers, the Rockets gave them a good hit, but the Jazz fought back and they didn’t let up when they did.

Will Hardy give his group his best shot, and why not? There’s a reason he’s one of the best coaches in the NBA. Nights like this night have proven it, even if this game doesn’t count.

It really looked like it was going to be one of those nights where the Rockets were trailing the Jazz by 19 at one point. But a 29-point thrashing gave the Jazz the game back and then some. From the second half onwards they actually had control of the game.

Even when the Jazz weren’t exactly great, the Rockets didn’t set the world on fire, and once they hit all their shots, the Jazz flipped the switch and they never looked back.

Markkanen didn’t perform particularly well – more on that later – but man Markkanen knew how to get himself to the finish line. That’s what makes him such a unique star, able to create his own shot. If the shot is off, he can easily exploit size differences to shoot from the charity stripe.

His free throw attempts (13) kept the Jazz at bay and Isaiah Collier’s seven free throw attempts helped them stay in the game against the Rockets. This is how you win games, even if the shot doesn’t fall.

Man, it’s hard not to get too excited about Juzang. It’s always exciting to see the Jazz shoot more with size – see you, Kyle Filipowski! – but Juzang was easily one of the most exciting players two games into the preseason.

Juzang can stretch the floor and has contact at the rim. While it may be too early to tell if he will even play a role in their season, it’s safe to assume he’ll get his chance.

Oh my Lanta, what a disaster. 12 points is already bad, but what makes it worse is the fact that the Jazz didn’t get their second field goal until John Collins more or less hit a three-pointer with three minutes left in the quarter.

Sure, they missed makeable shots, but the sloppy turnovers and stagnant movement meant Hardy had to take a frustrating timeout very early on. Things didn’t get much better with the second session.

It’s not like the Rockets took much advantage of it, but this was as awful as it gets.

As the Jazz’s designated best player, it’s sad that Markkanen isn’t able to hit too many shots. Granted, the free throws he hit were a good way to salvage a poor performance, which is the case with franchise players, but it was pretty noticeable to see him miss the shots he usually makes.

On the night, Markkanen shot three-for-11 from the field, and some of those shots were open dunks. Everyone knows it fits the mold of a night off, and of course Markkanen isn’t immune to it. The sad thing is that when you’re at the top of the pecking order, the nights off stick out like a sore thumb.

Even though it’s still preseason, it’s safe to assume that Keyonte George and Collin Sexton will be in the starting lineup on opening night. On nights like this, they left a lot to be desired, even if their shooting wasn’t as bad as Markkanen.

Together, the two were 6:16 from the field and had a total of five turnovers. Collier and Jordan Clarkson were noticeably better (although Collier wasn’t efficient from the field), but the Jazz will need more from them.