Big Al's debut vs. Boozer's and other Game 1 notes

3-point shots from the Utah Jazz’s season-opening 110-88 loss at Denver:

- Remember the first preseason game when new big man Al Jefferson looked lost on offense, and he only scored six points on 2-for-4 shooting? Wow, he about mirrored that one on Wednesday night. At least the “black hole” from Minnesota – his words, mind you – left plenty of room for improvement. And he was anything but a black hole in his Jazz debut, only putting up six shots and finishing with a measly six points.

Six shots in 31 minutes is not going to get the job done. It will be good to see him get after it more aggressively and he admitted to needing to deal with double teams better. To his credit, Big Al did have three blocked shots and only one turnover.

Here’s something to consider from the ain’t-that-something file:

Al Jefferson’s Utah Jazz debut: Six points and seven rebounds in a 110-88 loss to Denver (Oct. 27, 2010)

Carlos Boozer’s Utah Jazz debut: 27 points and 11 rebounds in a 104-78 win over the Los Angeles Lakers (Nov. 3, 2004)

“I missed shots that I know I can make, and that’s just how the game goes sometimes,” Jefferson said after Wednesday’s loss. “I’d rather get it out of the way now, because tomorrow is a new day.”

Added Deron Williams about Jefferson establishing himself as a low-post presence: “He had six points so we didn’t really get it going. It’s going to come with time.”

- All 12 players logged double-digit minutes as Jazz coach Jerry Sloan tried a variety of interesting lineup combinations. One surprise was how Deron Williams began the second quarter with Ronnie Price, Gordon Hayward, Jeremy Evans and Kyrylo Fesenko. Then there was the combo that included Earl Watson, Price, Hayward, Fesenko and Francisco Elson.

- Williams talked up Evans again before the game, and the Western Kentucky rookie was a bright spot. He was active, scored on some bouncy inside moves and recorded 11 points in his NBA debut. His outside game is suspect, and he badly missed a jumper while going 4-for-5 from the field. But if he could be something special if he puts on some good bulk and develops an outside game.

How’s this for the hidden stat of the night: Evans was the only Jazz player who finished the game with a positive plus/minus ranking. The Jazz outscored the Nuggets by two points when he was in the game for just over 11 minutes.

Hayward had a friendly introduction to the NBA by getting dunked on by Carmelo Anthony. Had to love how he paid Melo back a little bit by blocking his shot, even though Anthony thought it was a foul got called for a technical for moaning and groaning.

“I tried to front him at first and realized that wasn’t going to work, so i just tried to battle him down there,” Hayward said. “He’s a big guy. He’s very, very talented. So when my name was called, I just went out there and tried to compete with him.”

Hayward made a really nice off-balance shot even though he struggled from outside in a 4-for-11 debut.

It was good to see both rookies get some experience in the first game.