Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was back in the lineup, but the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 107-86 loss to the Utah Jazz to open the 2021-22 year looked more like the second half of last season than the first.
The Thunder were out of sync, struggled to make 3s and were dominated by Jazz star Rudy Gobert.
Donovan Mitchell scored just two points in the first half, but Gobert took over against the Thunder’s smaller center rotation. He beat former teammate Derrick Favors, and Isaiah Roby didn’t provide any more pressure when he checked in off the bench. Gobert finished with 16 points and 21 rebounds in 29 minutes of play.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 18 points, but he was just 1-for-7 from 3. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl was the only OKC player who made multiple shots from behind the arc, and as a team, the Thunder went 7-for-34 from deep. The starting lineup was 3-for-20 from 3.
It was a poor start for the Thunder, even by the standards of a team that is expected to spend the year developing and evaluating its young players and preparing more for the draft than any playoff chances.
Here are player grades for the opener: