The Jazz finally won thanks to their defense

When Will Hardy made his rant against his Jazz, after two defeats against the Lakers and the Blazers, he focused his speech more on the offensive problems of his team. The Jazz coach could have done the same with what was happening on the other side of the field.

Before the night’s match against the Pelicans, his team remained on four consecutive defeats, having conceded at least 121 points each time. With an average of 120 points taken on 100 possessions, the Salt Lake City team had the 27th defense in the league. But a reaction took place against NOLA, certainly deprived of Zion Williamson.

Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson were also absent up front, while Walker Kessler returned after three weeks of absence. And rather than reintroducing him directly into the five, and calling on Talen Horton-Tucker or Collin Sexton to compensate for the absence of the former 6th man of the year, Will Hardy preferred to draw from his bench with Simone Fontecchio, Omer Yurtseven and Kris Dunn with John Collins and Keyonte George.

Paid adjustment. “ From the start of the match, the physical dimension of our defensive activity was evident. We were able to make stops from the start, which we haven’t been able to do lately. It’s hard to start a match when you feel like you have to make every shot to stay in the game… So, kudos to all the guys who were in the first group for their defense », Congratulates the coach.

Fight despite mistakes

After six minutes of play, the Pelicans had only scored 8 points. The visitors will take advantage of the various rotations to still take the lead after 12 minutes (22-29). But the locals’ initial defensive efforts will eventually pay off since the Jazz will not concede more than 24 points in each of the following three periods.

Although the Jazz intercepted half as many balls as their opponents (8 to 15), they managed to score 26 points on the counter-attack and above all to contain the Pelicans attack to 42% shooting success.

“ This is clearly the first game of the year that we won thanks to our defense. Our defense allowed us to stay in the game and hang on. I also think that every player that took the field tonight really, really fought on that end of the field. “, appreciates the coach.

He, finally, adds that he often repeats to his players that the perfect match does not exist: “ I expect there will be mistakes in the game. But the most important thing for me will always be our competitiveness and the intensity of our game »concludes Will Hardy.