Will Hardy Speaks on Utah Jazz’s Lopsided Loss vs. Houston Rockets

The Utah Jazz took a humbling loss on the chin against the Houston Rockets on their home floor to end the weekend, falling short 101-129 in a rough performance on both sides of the ball.

It was another day the Jazz struggled with turnovers, logging 17 giveaways, shot a disappointing 28.1% from three on 32 attempts, and allowed 25 and 27 a piece to the Rockets’ star duo of Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun.

All in all, a rough result for Utah coming off the heels of their prior victory vs. the Sacramento Kings. And following the game, Jazz head coach Will Hardy kept it real: things weren’t too hot for most of the day. 

“It wasn’t a very good game,” Hardy said postgame. “A lot of categories, live ball turnovers, 14 of them. You know, we’ve talked about this before: It’s impossible to make up for those plays. Not being strong with the ball in different moments.”

“I assume there’s gonna be three or four games where the ball flies out of your hands, things happen. But gotta be a little more solid.”

Will Hardy Wants Jazz to Increase Physicality

Hardy also pointed out the mishaps that happened for the Jazz offensively, particularly shooting the ball. Lauri Markkanen made two of five shots from deep, Brice Sensabaugh shot 16.7% off the bench, and a combined 0-8 for the trio of Walt Clayton, Kyle Filipowski, and Isaiah Collier.

But in light of those miscues from deep, Hardy also highlighted the bright spots the Jazz showed as a force on the glass, despite being outrebounded 50-33.

“We obviously didn’t shoot the ball well from three at all, and I thought for the majority of the game, we actually did a really good job of keeping them off the glass,” Hardy said. “At halftime, they had five offensive rebounds. It was a team that lives on the offensive glass. We have to continue to find ways to fight through the really physical tough games.”

“We have to continue to meet the level of physicality. that, uh… that our opponents bring to the table. But these are good. These are good learning moments for our team. Um, I thought Ace played really well tonight.”

It’s back to the drawing board for Hardy and the Jazz, who will have another meeting against the Rockets coming up quickly in a back-to-back showing on their home floor on Monday night.

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