SALT LAKE CITY — The Jazz had their first practice of the 2015-16 season Tuesday, practicing from 10 a.m. to about 12:30, then meeting with the media afterwards. They'll meet again later Tuesday for a second practice from 5 to 7 p.m.

Here are some of the storylines that came out of training camp Tuesday:

The Jazz are at a good starting point

Coming into last season, newly hired coach Quin Snyder had to start over from scratch. He talked at length about deleting the old, bad habits that had, and had not, been taught by former coach Ty Corbin. After all, that team had the worst defense in the league.

Fast forward to this season, and the Jazz finished last season as the best defensive team in the league, by far, over the last two months of the year. Snyder was curious about whether or not they'd retain the good defensive habits, or forget them after a summer off.

The good news: They were "solid," according to Snyder. Gordon Hayward, for his part, said that the drills were really well executed, but things got a little more "sloppy" in the scrimmages, in more hectic environments. Still, that gives the Jazz a much higher starting point than the beginning of last season.

"We skipped ahead on some things on practice today, saying, 'hey, we remember that.'"

Jazz coaches can go small, but don't necessarily prefer to

After the Warriors won the title last season, the small-ball trend is getting more attention than ever before. The Indiana Pacers, for example, are planning to start swingman Paul George, a player with similar physical dimensions as Hayward, at power forward.

Hayward told reporters that he'd be "comfortable" playing the 4, especially given the work he put in with his body and with his postgame this summer.

But Snyder doesn't seem like he wants to use it as a primary look. Snyder compared the situation to football. "If you've got a drop-back passer, you don't run the option," he said. In basketball terms, given the tremendous talent that the Jazz have at the big spots, it doesn't make sense to design a system around playing small.

Instead, the Jazz want to impose their will playing with their style, focusing on good defense through impressive size and length. That doesn't mean that the Jazz won't play small ever, but I never expect it to be the Jazz's primary option: Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert are too good to keep off the floor.

Update: Jazz PG battle

Snyder also commented that he doesn't know who will start in Sunday's preseason game. That includes the point guard position. But Hayward commented on Raul Neto's performance thus far in practice.

"When he's in his element and he doesn't think so much, he can make some really good plays. He's been really good so far," Hayward said. While Hayward emphasized that Neto does have the rookie jitters, what they see when he's able to play through them has been promising.

Jazz brass see Neto as someone the rest of the Jazz's roster will really enjoy playing with, due to his ability to find the open man. It may seem crazy, but that, plus Neto's defensive size, may just be what the Jazz's starting point guard role needs.

That being said, I've written so many good things about Neto that I feel like his agent. How he looks this preseason will be critical to his immediate playing time.

Too many turnovers

As mentioned earlier, the scrimmage that took place at Jazz practice today was "sloppy," according to Hayward. Snyder pointed to that problem too.

"The things that we're going to have to work on were apparent. We turned the ball over too much, it's hard to win like that."

So what's the cause of the turnovers?

"Some of it's just mental, we have to be more strong-minded with the ball. And some of it's skill. We're not the most skilled team in the NBA," said Snyder.

Last year, the Jazz finished as the fifth-most turnover prone team in the league, which hurt their offensive production a lot. The other components of the "four factors" that explain a team's efficiency were all above average. Keeping hold of the ball in all circumstances will go a long way to determining the Jazz's offensive success next season.

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