Hoops Rumors

Hosting the Grizzlies in Utah on Tuesday, the Jazz entered halftime with a one-point lead but fell apart in the third quarter and ultimately lost the game by a score of 140-103. After Utah was outscored 76-38 and outrebounded 33-8 by Memphis in the second half, head coach Will Hardy ripped into his team during his post-game media session, as Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune relays.

“I’ve talked a lot about how we carry ourselves meaning something to me, and those words are not hollow,” Hardy said. “That second half was really disappointing, and it’s not representative of who we want to be as an organization. It’s not representative of who I want us to be.

“There are very few times where I’ve been disappointed in our group, and tonight I’ll drive home disappointed. But we have to all wake up tomorrow and get back to work. And it is one game. It is one half. I understand that, and I’ll get some sleep and wake up tomorrow with perspective. But during the game, perspective’s for the birds. The lights are on, you’re competing. You’re representing an organization, representing a fan base, our community. That was just unacceptable.”

Rookie forward Cody Williams (0-for-6, -26 in 18 minutes), second-year guard Keyonte George (0-for-4, -19 in nine minutes), and second-year forward Brice Sensabaugh (0-for-2, -22 in 10 minutes) were among the Jazz youngsters who struggled in the second half of the blowout loss to Memphis. It was hardly just on them though — all 11 players who saw the court in the third and fourth quarters had a plus/minus of -10 or worse during their minutes.

While Hardy didn’t single out any specific members of the Jazz in his comments to reporters, he noted that “a lot of our young players are getting the chance to play” in games down the stretch and said he wants those players to recognize that their opportunities shouldn’t be taken lightly. He also called for his team to play less selfishly and take more accountability.

“Pass the mother—-ing ball,” Hardy said when asked for specifics on what he wanted to see from his players. “Run back on defense. When it’s time to communicate what we’re doing on defense, you should do it at a volume louder than I’m talking to you right now. When there is a loose ball, you need to want it more than the other team. You are a member of a team. This is not about you. This is not a personal workout for you.”

As Larsen notes, while Hardy is right that the Jazz should be playing as hard as they can, the front office has put its coaching staff and players in a bad position by making it clear with its actions that winning games isn’t a top priority in the second half of the season. It’s difficult, Larsen continues, to ask players to give it their all when the organization has gone into full-fledged tanking mode and isn’t leading by example.

After Tuesday’s loss, Utah has a 16-57 record on the season and has dropped 13 of its past 14 games.

Still, Hardy is doing his best to push his players to compete harder during the final stretch of the season and to play a more selfless game, telling reporters that when “you make everything about yourself” it becomes an “infection” that affects the rest of the team.

“I understand that one game and one half shouldn’t be something that any of us overreact to,” Hardy said, per Larsen. “But you put a lot of time and energy into it, a lot of thought into it, a lot of emotional energy into it, and it’s disappointing sometimes when you don’t feel like people are pouring into themselves and understanding the opportunity that they have.

“I don’t pretend to have all the answers. I’m a young coach. I’m still figuring a lot out. It’s my 15th year in the NBA, and I’ve seen a lot of players make it and I’ve seen a lot of guys behave in a way that if they could go back in time, they’d take it back. I thought we played like a team for about a half, and then it looked like a pickup game at Lifetime Fitness, where we just all met 10 seconds ago, and we’re all just kind of out here trying to get a workout.”