3 Takeaways From Jazz's Clutch Win Over Pelicans in Home Opener

The Utah Jazz were able to pull out a narrow 120-119 home opener win vs. the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night in the Delta Center, making for what would be a game decided by a missed 19-foot shot at the last second from Dejounte Murray.

Compared to the Jazz's prior loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, this game had a lot more positives for Utah to bank on. The offense was flowing much more effectively, some key players rose the occasion for a bounce-back performance, and most importantly, Utah pulled out a win on their home floor to start 1-0 on the season when playing at the Delta Center.

Let's break down three key takeaways from the Jazz's latest win over the Pelicans that now puts them at an even .500 two games through 82:

A Brand New Starting Five

The Jazz didn't waste any time shaking up their starting five to kick off the new season, as it would only take one game for Will Hardy to pivot from the group he rolled out in Utah's opener.

Instead of Jaxson Hayes being the one to start at the five, it was Ace Bailey who got the call-up to the starting five. Jaren Jackson and Lauri Markkanen would operate as the primary bigs to start the night, with Markkanen even taking the role as Utah's center on the defensive end early in the night.

Over the course of the game, the Jazz's five-man lineup would eventually revert back closer to what we saw in game one, with a traditional center like Hayes running alongside Jackson Jr. as Utah's two bigs.

However, this particular starting five did start off pretty hot on the offensive side of the ball, so maybe Utah will be looking to run this starting five setup more often moving forward.

Jaxson Hayes Shines Off the Bench

Despite the starting five changes the Jazz made to kick this game off, those shifts certainly wouldn't prevent Jaxson Hayes from exploding as one of Utah's biggest stars of the night–– which comes even more impressive because of the fact he was in the second unit.

Hayes essentially operated as the Jazz's sixth man with a team-high 26 points off the bench, where he racked up 17 points on a near-perfect 7-8 clip from the field.

Hayes paired that with a solid five rebounds, two assists, and a block en route to being one of Utah's five closers in the fourth quarter and having the highest plus-minus of the game at +9.

With more games like this, it'll be tough to keep Hayes off the floor, especially as an injury replacement for Jusuf Nurkic at the five. In this game, his size and finishing ability proved exactly why the Jazz were interested in signing him this offseason after the departure of Walker Kessler.

Major Bounce-Back for Jaren Jackson Jr.

Jaren Jackson Jr.'s season debut for Utah earlier this week was far from the performance he would've hoped for. However, the former Defensive Player of the Year quickly reverted back to his old ways in the Jazz's home opener––to the point where it's hard to argue anyone else as this team's MVP of the night.

Jackson Jr. made a huge impact on both sides of the ball. He not only led the team in scoring with an impressive 24 points, but he also made his presence felt on the defensive side of the ball with three blocks, paired with nine rebounds and three assists.

It was a night for the Jazz big man where he was able to really silence the doubters, especially after his lackluster game one performance against Memphis.

Two flaws are commonly pointed out when discussing Jackson Jr. and his overall play style: his underwhelming rebounding ability and his foul trouble. In this game, neither aspect reared its ugly head and became a big part of why the Jazz's end result looked like it did.

Be sure to follow Utah Jazz On SI on X to stay up to date for daily Utah Jazz news, rumors and analysis!