New Orleans Pelicans vs. Utah Jazz: 3 takeaways from the restart opener

3 takeaways from the New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz re-opener

More than four months removed from the last regular-season game played before the NBA entered a hiatus due to the global pandemic, it was the New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz that restarted the 2019-20 season Thursday night.

The NBA’s restart will include 22 teams (9 from the Eastern Conference, 22 from the Western Conference) playing in eight seeding games, a possible play-in tournament for the 8th seed in both conferences, and then a traditional three-round, seven-game series playoffs.

The re-opening night festivities were concluded by a clash between the Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers. Even though much of the attention was paid to the nightcap, there were plenty of interesting storylines in the early matchup between the Pelicans and Jazz.

From Zion Williams to Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, we explore the three biggest takeaways for Utah’s narrow win over the Pelicans in the NBA’s restart opener.