Inside The Jazz

Will Hardy on Jazz Preseason Loss vs. Spurs: 'We've Taken A Step Back'

The Utah Jazz head coach sounded off after the team's first preseason loss of the year.

Jared Koch

Oct 10, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy reacts during the second half against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
Oct 10, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy reacts during the second half against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
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The Utah Jazz's three-game win streak to open this year's set of preseason games finally came to a close on Sunday night, as the San Antonio Spurs got the best of them in their fourth of six preliminary matchups before the regular season, coming out with a 126-120 win to drop the Jazz to 3-1.

Utah wasn't quite as fortunate to have a fully active lineup in this one, as big names like Lauri Markkanen, Keyonte George, Jordan Clarkson, and John Collins were all out for this one. And while it gave a welcomed chance to get this roster's young talent more involved in the game plan, it didn't quite result in adding another win to the left column.

After the game, Jazz head coach Will Hardy spoke about some of what he saw from his guys, noting that while the team is better than they were on day one of camp, Saturday's showing wasn't the most ideal.

"I think our team is better than when we started camp, but I think we've taken a step back from our last game," Hardy said. "You don't get better every day. Like, every day isn't better than the day before. I'm happy that I think the team is trending in the right direction, but there were some things tonight that were obviously a little disappointing."

It was far from a clean outing for the Jazz, as they suffered from both an ugly performance in their ball security and turnover numbers, as well as a defensive collapse on the interior-- an aspect which Coach Hardy later dove into.

"In total, 22 turnovers, 13 of them live ball turnovers, that's going to be really hard to overcome," Hardy continued. "We gave up 70 points in the paint, but 50 of them were in the second half. 26 transition points, 20 of those were in the second half. Our urgency as a group, first and foremost, has to start with our effort-changing ends. We have to change ends faster to offense, and we have to change ends quicker going from offense to defense."

While there were some hiccups in the process for Hardy and the Jazz, it wasn't a total disaster. On the offensive end, Utah managed to score well despite their turnover issues, with Collin Sexton leading the way with a game-high 24 points. Svi Mykhailiuk and Brice Sensabaugh also posted their fair share in the second unit, combining for 28 points and six three-pointers.

As for the Spurs, Keldon Johnson led the way in scoring with 20 off the bench, also collecting an eye-catching poster dunk on Taylor Hendricks.

"Like I said at the beginning, I do think that our team is better now than we were the first day of training camp, and that's ultimately our goal, is that we're better than when we started," Hardy said. "Tomorrow's a good day for us to get back in the gym and regroup a little bit. We need to clean up foundationally from tonight's game, and I'm fully confident that we'll do so."

The Jazz have two more preseason matchups to go before the real thing gets underway, with their next game scheduled back against a home crowd vs. the Sacramento Kings on October 15th at 6 PM MT.

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Jared Koch
JARED KOCH

Jared Koch is the Associate Editor of The Frozen Rope — SI.com's team website covering the Utah Jazz. He's covered the NBA and NFL for the past two years, also being the Managing Editor of Inside The Kings — SI.com's team website covering the Sacramento Kings.

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