Field Level Media
22 Mar 2023, 09:40 GMT+10
The Utah Jazz know what people have said about them this season.
When you trade All-Stars like Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert along with all of your starters while gobbling up draft picks, outsiders often downplay your chances of success and use words like "tanking" to describe the state of your franchise.
"It's not easy to go into a season where everybody's telling you that you're not very good," Jazz coach Will Hardy said after his team surprised Sacramento in a 128-120 victory. "There's obviously rough patches at points in the season. ... You lose four in a row, you dip a certain number of games below .500, and everybody says, 'Oh, there it is, it's over,' and that's natural."
Utah, which hosts Portland on Wednesday in Salt Lake City, continued to deal with that attitude after management traded away three more key players and left Hardy with a young and inexperienced squad.
Even with the roster turnover and unproven talent, the Jazz somehow managed to keep winning. Not all of the time, but enough to make others takenote, as their team hashtag mentions. And even when they haven't won, the team has been competitive in most games.
The past two games showed the Jazz's resiliency. On Saturday, they beat the Boston Celtics. Then on Monday, Utah jumped out to a huge 25-point lead and pushed to a victory despite that massive advantage turning into a deficit in the fourth quarter.
And they did that against the Kings, one of the top teams in the Western Conference, despite injuries to inactive starters Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton. That led Hardy to boast about his players, saying "they haven't backed off one bit. They haven't given in, ever."
Casual NBA fans might scratch their heads when looking at the boxscore from the Jazz-Kings game, which included eight Utah players reaching double figures in scoring. Rookie Ochai Agbaji led the way with a career-high 27 points, including six 3-pointers.
Agbaji and teammates clearly listened to their coach and ignored outsiders' narratives.
"The way that they fight every day, the way that they are committed to trying to win, the way that they've all sacrificed for the group. For that to happen, I'm so happy for them," Hardy said. "I love this team. I hope you guys do, too."
The Jazz (35-36) come into this game against the Blazers having won four of five and still in contention for the postseason.
Portland (31-40) has lost six straight and nine of 11, and the Blazers are fading from a play-in spot.
The Blazers did get a 60-point performance from Damian Lillard the last time these teams played. Lillard hit 21 of 29 shots, including nine 3-pointers and nine free throws, in a 134-124 win two months ago.
"I think any time you score 60 points it's special, but I think this one I just felt like it came pretty simple," Lillard said. "I thought I played the game as it should've been played. I knew we needed to win so I came out with a mentality to attack and be aggressive, but it wasn't like I just came out on fire. It wasn't one of those games."
--Field Level Media
Get a daily dose of Herald Globe news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Herald Globe.
More InformationGOWER, Missouri: Hundreds of people flocked to the small town of Gower, Missouri, to see a mummified nun, Sister Wilhelmina ...
TOKYO, Japan: After coming under public criticism for using Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's residence for a private party, his ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency has announced that 2nd Lt. James Litherland of South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, an Army ...
DHAKA, Bangladesh - The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a case against 13 members of Grameen Telecom's board of directors, ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The U.S. Commerce Department has said that trade ministers from 14 countries have taken part in the US-led ...
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky: Two horses that succumbed to their injuries at Churchill Downs have become the 11th and 12th fatalities over ...
Elise Mertens ousted No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula from the French Open on Friday with a 6-1, 6-3 win in ...
Montreal Canadiens forward Michael Pezzetta signed a two-year, $1.625 million contract extension on Friday that spans through the 2024-25 season. ...
New Delhi [India], June 2 (ANI): Former Indian cricketer Kirti Azad voiced support for the protesting wrestlers and also expressed ...
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 2 (ANI): Bengaluru FC midfielder Suresh Singh Wangjam expressed his unwavering decision to extend his stay ...
Denver [US], June 2 (ANI): Denver Nuggets defeated Miami Heat 104-93 in Game 1 of the NBA Final played at ...
London [UK], June 2 (ANI): England Test coach Brendon McCullum hopes that the captain Ben Stokes will be able to ...