After losing to the Detroit Pistons at home, 125-116, the Utah Jazz lost their second straight game. It was a game where the home team started quite sluggish.
With skill, the Pistons took advantage of Utah’s unwillingness to play physically and took a 12-point lead into halftime.
Will Hardy, head coach of the Jazz, remarked after the game, “I think the game was wasted in the first half with our lack of passion, our lack of passion as a squad.” I must prepare us for departure more effectively.
Bojan Bogdanovic, an ex-Jazz player, was traded to Detroit this summer in the same transaction that sent Kelly Olynyk to Utah. He had himself a game in his first opportunity to get retribution. Wednesday night’s game saw Olynyk end with eight points, six assists, and three rebounds, while Bogdanovic finished with 23 and five rebounds.
Suppose there was any good news for the Jazz, Collin Sexton’s development into a legitimate point guard in place of Mike Conley, who was hurt. Sexton finished with a career-high 12 assists and 17 points while playing 35:06 minutes and shooting 58.3% from the floor.
Hardy praised Sexton’s offensive abilities, saying, “I thought he picked his positions to shoot well. His stat line illustrates his approach. “Let’s get the greatest shot we can for our team at every opportunity.” He did a great job tonight, passing the ball to his colleagues. It’s extremely wonderful to witness that kind of development. He’ll appreciate that; I’m confident of that.”
Sexton has been putting a lot of effort into improving his reads, mainly out of pick-and-roll situations, as Hardy pulled back the curtain to show.
He’s been working extremely hard on it with our instructors, according to Hardy. “He did a very excellent job doing that tonight,” said the coach, “because He has been practicing a lot of reads when driving out of isolation and out of pick-and-roll.”
Hardy was highly disappointed in his team’s transition play against Detroit and the Jazz’s general lack of physicality and passion on the glass, particularly on the offensive end.
Hardy stated, “Those things are not pretty. As a team, we continue to work on addressing this problem, which requires a collective effort. These things are complex, but they need a lot of focus because of how many teams are playing smaller and faster right now in the NBA. If you shoot the ball and stare, by the time they grab the rebound, it will be too late for you to move, either to get the rebound or to get back.
After making a shot, Hardy wants to see the Jazz move more aggressively, either by rushing the glass for a potential rebound or returning swiftly to defend the opposing side of the court.
Even with your man, you can’t play defense, Hardy remarked. We can’t rely on one player to rebound for us. “You have to go back and stay in front of the ball. And afterward, the rebounding will have to be a collective effort from everyone. We’re having players contest shots at the rim, but nobody is coming to sweep up the rebound on the weak side by being forceful with the roller. We continue to work on this stuff, and I hope to see improvement soon.”
Hardy continues to have many reasons to be happy. Sexton made significant progress as a genuine floor general for the Jazz, who only had four double-digit scorers (based on the team’s tendency this season).
As the Jazz drop to 12-8 on the season, it’s time to start over.