Jazz 90, Lakers 71: Raul Neto makes Jazz fans swoon!

There's really only so much anyone should take from a single game. And that "so much" is even smaller for a preseason game ... especially for the first one.

The game started out very ugly. Derrick Favors had some nice first-half moments, but that was about it.

But then, a dreamy Brazilian stepped on the court, and we all pledged our love to him forever.

There was one particular play that just killed me. Wolf dribbled in the back court, stumbled a bit, got pushed back by 2-3 defenders, and then rifled an entry pass to a reasonably defended Tibor Pleiß in the key, who was then fouled. The pass was stupid. Nobody should be able to pull off something like that. Off-balance, in traffic, 25+ feet. I don't know.

Edit: Here's the play I'm referring to. Thanks Andrew Bailey for creating the Vine.

I don't know what will happen in the future. I don't know how much Neto's "I really, REALLY don't want to shoot" game will affect the team during the real games. I don't know if tonight was a fluke or a sign of things to come. All I know is that we haven't seen passing like that from the PG spot in a long time. And if the performances of the PG's continue to look like what we saw tonight, I expect Wolf to become the starter.

As for some individual stuff:

• Derrick Favors had the most impressive game: 16 points, 9 rebounds, a steal, and a block in 24 minutes.
• Rudy Gobert was decent: 10 points (4-9 FT's), 8 rebounds, 1 assist and a block in 25 minutes.
• Gordon Hayward was okay: 11 points (4-10), 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal in 28 minutes.
• Rodney Hood and Alec Burks couldn't shoot worth beans: 4 combined points off 1-14 shooting. Burks looked good as a ball handler, passer, and defender, though.
• Trey Burke had some nice moments (including a couple nice fast breaks) and some ol' chuck-and-miss habit moments. 10 points (3-9 shooting), 5 rebounds, and 3 assists.
• Jeff Withey and Tibor Pleiß can hit their FT's (11-12 combined). Also, our frontcourt is huge.
• Joe Ingles can hit 3's (2-4).
• Trevor Booker played well and with a lot of energy, Trey Lyles really wanted an epic dunk.
• Elijah Millsap had a nice 12 minutes (4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal)
• And Raul Neto can freaking pass. And steal the ball. 2 points, 6 assists, 4 steals, 2 rebounds.

And the team's 2nd half defense made the Lakers look bad. Which it should.

Next up: the Lakers. In Hawaii. Again. I hope Burks can hula for Quin Snyder.