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Welcome to the Triple Team! Here are Andy Larsen's three thoughts after a wild 117-114 preseason overtime win for the Utah Jazz against the Los Angeles Lakers.

1. That didn't feel like a preseason game.

What a remarkable game: with all of the emotion and feistiness, this game felt much more like an important regular season battle than a meaningless preseason game. The contest was within 10 points for the final 38 minutes. The introduction of Metta World Peace and relatively extended Kobe Bryant minutes made it feel like a physical battle throughout.

And that paragraph didn't even mention the Trevor Booker/Roy Hibbert scuffle. After getting tangled up with Julius Randle (Randle was called for the personal foul), Booker shoved Randle away. That led Lakers center Roy Hibbert to walk from the other side of the floor to confront Booker, at which point Booker threw a left-handled slap.

Preseason getting heated 🔥🔥🔥 Trevor Booker throws punch at Roy Hibbert #Lakers#Jazzpic.twitter.com/DQdzxpdpwt — NBA On Def Pen (@NBAOnDefPen) October 7, 2015

Booker needs to know better here: he can't take a swing at a player for any reason. That his hand was open will save him a few games on his suspension, but a suspension is coming.

Hibbert was a nuisance for the rest of the game, making the most of contact that occurred to get to the free throw line, while playing physically on the other end. Hibbert's going to greatly improve the Lakers' defensive tenacity. That team looked too frequently like it didn't care on that end of the floor last year, and Hibbert will change that.

The end of the game also provided tremendous experience for the Jazz's young players: Alec Burks and Rodney Hood took turns at creating for the offense late. But perhaps the best part was that, for the most part, they didn't force their own shots. Instead, they found dump offs for easy shots. Two of the three final makes in regulation for the Jazz were easy Jeff Withey dunks; that's tremendous late-game execution.

As Quin Snyder said, "It wasn't a typical preseason game, that's for sure." Rodney Hood agreed. "It felt like a regular season, midseason, playoff type game."

2. Jazz offense "played with the pass" extremely well

To "play with the pass" has been Quin Snyder's mantra ever since day 1 in a Utah Jazz boardroom, and tonight, I thought the Jazz showed off the benefits of that approach. Time and time again, the Jazz made the extra pass to find the man with the easiest possible shot.

Check this possession out, for example!

That's just one of a total of 27 assists on 41 made baskets. All 27 of those assists came in regulation, so don't worry, the overtime wasn't skewing the stats. That would have been the second-highest total of any game last season, only surpassed by one 28 point performance against Atlanta.

In particular, Alec Burks' six assists were really encouraging, especially in a game where he also found a rhythm with his own shot. That the Jazz did so well passing the ball with their wings was critical, and allowed Snyder to feel comfortable playing the game's last eight minutes without a traditional point guard on the floor.

In the end, the Jazz finished with 117 points on about 108 possessions, a solid 108 ORtg. They still ended up having too many turnovers, which nullified the good passing somewhat. The truth of the matter is that the Jazz, if they pass this frequently, are going to have a high number of turnovers. After all, passing more often leads to more opportunities for your opponent to intercept the ball. But if Snyder could keep that assist total high, and lower the turnovers a notch or two, then I think he'll be pleased.

3. Player impressions:

I've got so many other thoughts from that tremendous game, and while I'm technically limited to three main ones here, I thought I could get away with a look at how some of the players played individually.

Alec Burks was the best player on the floor for either team tonight, and beyond a few missed FTs, he played a stellar game. In the end, he finished with 27 points on only 14 shots, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. Burks had an easy time getting to the rim against the revolving door that is the Lakers backcourt, but made the right play while he was there. His 3 steals were also very valuable, and his hops on the final few possessions in regulation prevented Robert Sacre from getting the ball, allowing the Jazz the opportunity to tie it late. He was phenomenal.

Gordon Hayward played just 12 minutes in the game, but this play was pretty special: > Gordon Hayward with the don't-try-this-at-home move. pic.twitter.com/SBfVeuOJLa — BBALLBREAKDOWN (@bballbreakdown) October 7, 2015

Trey Burke had a tremendous first quarter, where he was 5-6 from the field, played within the team, and found open teammates. From that point forward, though, he wasn't great: the rest of the game, he finished 1-6 with 5 turnovers. Still, though, if he can hit outside shots like he did overall (3-5 from downtown), that will help him greatly.

We saw the 3 point shot from Tibor Pleiss! It didn't go in, but at least he shot it! His form kind of reminds me of Manute Bol's.

Jeff Withey was great: his 4 blocked shots were all impressive. He gives the Jazz continued rim protection and the ability to finish layups and dunks.

Raul Neto struggled a little in this game, but still played good defense and found open teammates in his 16 minutes of play. This, in particular, was a tremendously impressive play that no one else on the Jazz pulls off: He also made a three point shot, so at least we know it's possible.

He also made a three point shot, so at least we know it's possible. Elijah Millsap has changed his offensive game greatly. He did a tremendous job finding open teammates and generally making the right play, including in the final seconds of regulation: That makes him so much more playable than he was last season, when it seemed like he gummed up the offense by making the ball stick. This year, he's part of a free flowing system. He's still a great defender, though needs to know not to foul when the team is in the bonus.

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