Utah Jazz vs. Houston Rockets: Preview, start time, channel

The Utah Jazz will continue their preseason against the Houston Rockets and play their first real NBA team after dominating the New Zealand Breakers 116-87 on Friday. This will be Houston's first preseason game after being eliminated from the play-in tournament last season.

It will be an opportunity to see if Will Hardy makes adjustments to his rotation, whether by adding some of the bench warmers, such as Svi Mykhailiuk, Drew Eubanks And Patty Millsgetting more reps or reshaping his starting lineup.

You may be asking yourself: Why in the name of Trevor Booker would I tune in to watch preseason basketball when the games are meaningless and the guys in the upper rotation are only playing minutes? Nonetheless

Game information

When: October 7th, 6:30 p.m. Mountain Time

Where: Delta Center, Salt Lake City, UT

Watch/Stream at: Jazz+, KJZZ,

Things to see

It's time for J-Silky to shine

Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images

Finally, Johnny Juzang signed a four-year, $12 million contract to return to the Jazz after surviving the late stages of his two-way contract. Was it worth it? From a narrative perspective, it certainly seems to be his season to show off. He turned heads by leading the Jazz against the Breakers, scoring 19 points off 5/6 triples in just 18 minutes. If Will Hardy Since he really is taking this preseason as seriously as Jazz Twitter, I can imagine it would make sense for him to get some more time on the floor against a true NBA competitor.

The funky Walker Kessler/John Collins fiasco

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images

That's no secret Will Hardy trying to bring back the third year Walker KesslerThe pizazz from his rookie season on the bench John Collins and his whopping $26.58 million. On Friday night, Kessler played 25 minutes while Collins played just 10 minutes.

Kessler's defense no longer has a reason to prove itself, but how important must his offensive ability be when there's no denying he needs to be on the floor? If we overreact enough to Friday's game against the Breakers, there's still a lot of work to be done. Although he scored a few times on handoffs below the rim, his 0/4 presence from the free throw line can scare Jazz fans a little.

It is important to note that rotations are not fixed for the season. It was like that last year Jordan Clarkson who was brought into the starting line-up at the last second Collin Sexton after being named the starting shooting guard throughout the preseason. I doubt Kessler will be taken out of the starting lineup so early, but Will Hardy certainly has his eye on him.

Pre-season rookie showdown!

Photo by Adam Hagy/NBAE via Getty Images

3. Overall selection Reed Sheppard is expected to make his preseason debut tomorrow against the Jazz after a strong performance in the Las Vegas Summer League. He also gets the second-highest odds to win Rookie Of The Year Zach Edey about Fanduel.

It will be interesting to see how he compares to our 10th pick Cody Williamswho debuted on Friday with 6 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. In contrast to Sheppard's deep three-ball game and POA defender caliber, he has a decent skillset of good creation moves and a natural ability to get to the rim.

Add jazz newbies to the mix Isaiah Collier And Kyle FIlipowskiBoth want to make an impact in the limited minutes they have, and you yourself have a somewhat interesting reason for attending preseason basketball on a Monday!