Will Hardy Makes Honest Statement on De'Aaron Fox After Jazz vs. Kings

The Utah Jazz saw an elite performance from the Sacramento Kings guard this weekend.

Nov 16, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy stands on the sideline during the first quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The Utah Jazz couldn't get things done on Saturday night for their first of a four-game road trip, as the Sacramento Kings secured a narrow 121-117 win, dropping Utah to a 3-9 record on the new year.

It was ultimately an incredible performance out of the Kings' star point guard De'Aaron Fox, who posted another strong scoring outing just one day after finding his way to a franchise-record 60-point stat line. He finished with 49 points, three rebounds, and nine assists in an effort that was done without Domantas Sabonis, Malik Monk, and DeMar DeRozan.

After the loss, Jazz head coach Will Hardy spoke with the media, dishing some praise towards to Fox, as well as diving into what made his scoring barrage so tough to defend.

"De'Aaron's a really talented player," Hardy said, "He's hard to keep in front, especially when he's surrounded by a lot of shooting. There's positives and negatives to certain people being out. In tonight's game, if you look at their starting lineup, that's four guys that can really shoot the ball. So, there's not a lot of great choices. I thought for the most part, we kept Fox off the rim, but he's tough in the mid-range. He did a good job manipulating the switching. He obviously had a way better first half than second half. "

Fox stepped up to the task for a depleted Kings squad, one that learned of their three key absences just hours before tip off against the Jazz. For Hardy and his squad, it makes the road to a win just a bit more difficult as players move in and out of the opposing lineup as they did on Saturday.

"It took a little bit of an adjustment, " Hardy continued. "You prep for a game thinking it's going to be played one way, and it's something totally different hours before the game. So, it took the team a little bit to adjust to that change. I thought for the most part, they did a decent job of adjusting, but yeah, Fox is a tough cover."

Hardy and the Jazz will look to avoid their 10th loss of the season on Sunday night, as they'll go up against the Los Angeles Clippers in the newly-built Intuit Dome.

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