Los Angeles Lakers vs Utah Jazz -- NBA Preseason game one thread

The Utah Jazz tip off against the Los Angeles Lakers tonight. The game starts at 9:00 PM EST, or 7:00 PM MT, or, well, 6:00 AM if you are in Uzbekistan. (It's a global game. Don't front.) The game is available to watch on TV in the Salt Lake metro on ROOT Sports, and I believe the broadcast in other parts of the mountain region. It's also on NBA TV, so that means it must be important. (Not.) (Bringing "Not Jokes" back... also NOT happening.) I don't know who has the call for which broadcasts, but I do know that lots of Jazz people have made the flight to Hawaii for this game. The first two games for the Jazz this preseason will be played there. I wouldn't mind taking that flight myself.

As it's the first preseason game I don't expect to see NBA Finals level play from either team. There's some rust on both sides, players coming back from injuries, and a whole bunch of new players trying to learn their respective programs. We'll see the best players for a bit of action, but it's mostly a trial period for the bubble guys who want to make the team. I am not intimately familiar with the training camp battles for LA, but I can see they have brought in just about as many bigmen as the Jazz have. If anything, the battle in the paint should be worth watching (as highlighted in the game preview over here).

These are the starters for tonight, and below that the rest of the rosters.

This is just an estimation of which player may have the same role or skills as the other player; it's not rated based on how good a player is. Ryan Kelly isn't the 19th best player on the Lakers. Lou Williams is probably Top 5. You can argue about the spots on the Jazz as well.

I'm most excited to see what new things Quin Snyder has brought to the team this year. Also, yes, also excited to see Alec Burks back on the court. So many people have gotten it in their heads of some Alec vs. Rodney thing. I am overjoyed at the prospect of them BOTH being on the floor at the same time. Teams will get killed by them in the middle of the 3rd quarter. That's my hope. Tonight's our first chance to see that.

GO JAZZ GO!