5 Studs from Dallas Mavericks' suspenseful preseason loss to Utah Jazz

1. Stud - Klay Thompson

Klay Thompson's long-anticipated debut for the Dallas Mavericks finally happened on Thursday night, and he did not disappoint. The excitement surrounding his Mavs debut was radiating inside the arena before it even started, as fans got there early to watch his pregame warmup and there was much more media on the floor for last night's game compared to Monday night's game.

Thompson started the game with a couple of misses from the mid-range and one miss from the corner, and his first make of the game came from the free throw line and he went 1-2 from the line on that trip.

Early in the second quarter, Thompson made his first three of the game coming off a Daniel Gafford screen. Having Thompson on the roster allows the Mavs to use different off-ball actions to get him open looks, and he needs no space to let it fly.

Defensively, Thompson took on a diverse array of assignments ranging from Jordan Clarkson to Lauri Markkanen, and he held his own in every matchup. He was giving great effort and moving his feet well, and the Mavs will need him to continue to play at a high level on that end. Thompson is motivated to prove that he is still the defender he once was, and Jason Kidd complimented his ability to be a two-way player after the game.

The most underrated part of Thompson's game last night was his passing, as he had multiple assists to Dereck Lively II. Thompson's passing and overall play with bigs wasn't talked about much when discussing his potential impact in Dallas, and we could be seeing tons of assists from Thompson to Lively II and Gafford this season. After the game, Thompson said playing with Gafford and Lively II was one of the reasons he signed with the Mavs, and he is eager to get them good looks.

Thompson ended up finishing with 10 points on the night while shooting 3-5 from downtown. He was letting it fly with confidence regardless of where the defender was, and his 3-point shooting is going to be huge for Dallas this season.

There were oohs and aahs every time that Thompson shot the ball, and the mid-range shots off the dribble will start to fall over time. He spends tons of time working on those shots before the games, and his addition to the Mavs is going to be pivotal on both ends of the floor.

His on-court combination with Doncic is going to be scary, and he has a great shot at becoming one of the greatest shooters in Mavs history.