HOUSTON — It wasn’t a stoic scene at the Toyota Center following Sunday’s shootaround for the Utah Jazz.
Guys were rather loose, even engaging in chats about fashion and topics non-basketball related.
Ahead of Game 1 of their first-round series against the Houston Rockets, the team didn’t want to forget that a game of basketball was being played.
So, much more than the preparation, analytics or statistics, the squad is just happy to be playing on this national stage as the fifth seed with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m. MT on TNT.
“It’s kind of why you play all year, you play the 82 games and you try and win as many as possible to try and give yourself a chance to be here,” said Jazz forward Joe Ingles.