Grading Darryn Peterson's Performance in Utah Jazz Rookie Debut

The Utah Jazz finally got their first look at number-two overall pick Darryn Peterson in a regular-season game in their season opener against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.

And that debut for Peterson has been a long time coming.

Since he was first selected with the Jazz's highly-touted lottery pick back in June, many have been focused on just how elite of a prospect he really is, and how quickly he'll be able to catch onto the NBA game after being viewed as one of the more talented guards at the college level this past year.

But just how did Peterson perform in game one of 82? Was his night all that the Jazz and fans alike could've hoped for, or did things turn out to be more of a disappointment for Utah's rookie?

Let's break Peterson's first game of what hopes to be a long, successful career by handing out an initial grade for his performance in the Jazz's 103-123 defeat in Memphis.

Stats: 31 MIN, 9 PTS (3-7 FG, 0-1 3PT), 4 REB, 2 AST, 1 TO, 2 PF

Peterson's debut was... pretty quiet, all things considered. But that certainly doesn't mean that Peterson himself dropped the ball by having any type of poor performance.

The Jazz as a whole had many errors. Perimeter defense, rebounding, and turnovers all remained glaring issues from start to finish. But really, in Peterson's case, he played quite alright in the reps that he did get. 

Peterson shot the ball relatively efficiently for a rookie in his first NBA game, and got all of his made shots in or right outside of the paint. He also did well initiating contact by finding his way to four free throw attempts, which he turned in for three extra points.

Peterson also turned out to be a net-positive player on the defensive end when he was on the floor as well.

While he didn't have many stats to jump off the page on the defensive end, lineups with Peterson involved did result in a net -4.6 points allowed per 100 possessions, which is a great start for any rookie in this first career game.

Where the issue came in for Peterson in his first game wasn't exactly all his fault: there simply wasn't many opportunities for the rookie to get involved on the offensive side of the ball.

Keyonte George––for as well as he played––had the ball in his hands a lot in game one. He had a 27.4% usage rate in the 29 minutes he played, which comes just second on the roster next to Isaiah Collier. Jaren Jackson and Lauri Markkanen each also had over 25% themselves, and left Peterson to playing a bit more passively and off-the-ball than many had expected.

So for Peterson to really expand his game into being the true star that many expect him to be, the Jazz need to find a way to get him involved on the offensive end more effectively–– whether that be by generating more designed looks his way, or to get him in more advantageous lineups.

But considering the circumstances of Peterson's night, it's hard to really be straight-up disappointed. Sure, there's a ton of room for growth from here, but nothing that should discourage anyone about what could be ahead for the Jazz's talented rookie. 

As for a grade to hand out for Peterson's first night in the NBA, I'll go with a B-. The Jazz need to find ways to get him more involved moving forward, and Peterson himself needs to be more aggressive as the high-level scorer he was drafted to be.

But overall, this is a nice start to build on. We've seen many worse NBA debuts across the league in recent memory, and Peterson certainly won't be grouped into any of those lowlights. He simply just needs a few more reps under his belt to truly hone into the potential he was seen to have back as an incoming prospect this summer.

And there might just be reason for optimism in Peterson's second game of the year on Friday. Just look back to his preseason stint with Utah: his first game resulted in a quiet three-point performance on 1-5 shooting from the field, then he turned around to have a much-better 23-point outing the very next game.

So just maybe, Peterson takes in that experience and comes out for an impressive second game of his career against the New Orleans Pelicans back at home in the Delta Center.

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