Jazz HC Reveals Impetus for Defensive Dominance vs. Pelicans

If the Utah Jazz can work this into their nightly repertoire, the sky's the limit.

On the heels of reminding the NBA that their 10-3 start was no fluke, the Utah Jazz are feeling whole again — or close to it. Other than point guard Collin Sexton's lingering hamstring injury, Utah is basically back at full strength again. 

That was exemplified by the Jazz's 21-point rout of the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Although Sexton was absent, Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson, and Mike Conley returned to the lineup, and Utah was able to conjure up that Salt City Magic that dominated the headlines for the first month of the season, vanquishing an opponent who entered the game as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. 

That trio's return was the story, but the tip of the spear in Utah's impressive win over New Orleans was its defense. The Jazz had a defensive renaissance of sorts, foiling Zion Williamson — despite his 26 points — and the Pelicans. 

New Orleans shot 40% from the field, going just 4-of-27 (14.8%) from the three-point line. Utah's smothering defense came against a Pelicans squad that was on a seven-game winning streak. 

After the game, Jazz head coach Will Hardy dished on why his team was suddenly so stingy defensively after fading in that department in recent weeks and the coaches' emphasis on being more active on that side of the court. 

“We’ve talked a lot lately about our activity in general," Hardy said post-game. "I thought early in the season, we were flying around a little bit more, more active getting our hands on balls, pushing catches out, not letting teams reverse the ball as easily and catch it where they want to. And then I think we went through a period where, whether it’s the guys over-focusing on the game plan, or whatever the case may be, I just felt as a team we got a little bit rigid on the defensive end. We got a little bit careful. I think we were trying to be perfect on the defensive end, and I think what makes our group have the ability to be special is when we do fly around."

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At the end of the day, while the Jazz will always strive to attain perfection, it's an impossible objective. Along the way, when things don't go exactly according to plan, the coaches remind the players of their imperfections. 

Part of the magic of this Jazz season thus far has been this team's production and the chemistry it has established despite not having a bonafide superstar player on the roster. The Jazz have embraced that reality, wearing it like armor on the basketball court. Perhaps it's helped to foster that Wasatch-sized chip everyone can see on Utah's shoulder.  

"We’ve talked all year about being an imperfect team and leaning on each other and having a high level of activity, and I thought we got back to that tonight," Hardy said. "I think ‘Vando’ [Jarred Vanderbilt] did a very good job early in the game of setting the tone for us, but Mike [Conley] pursuing the ball, ‘JC’ [Clarkson] pursuing the ball—I thought Walker [Kessler] was great in his minutes as well. Just a really good team effort. I think tonight when we go back and watch the film, we probably weren’t perfect in our game-plan execution, but our level of activity was much higher than it’s been recently.” 

KSL's Ryan Miller reported a few key metrics that further illustrate how Utah confounded New Orleans defensively, putting the kybosh on a serious wave of offensive momentum.

The Pelicans entered Tuesday as the fifth best offensive team in the league, with an offensive rating of 115.3, but their rating against the Jazz was a 97.1, and it was under 90 through three quarters.

The Jazz deserve a lot of credit for the defensive prowess showcased against New Orleans. Vanderbilt, in particular, was the poster-child for Hardy's 'active' rallying cry. 

"Guarding in the NBA is hard," Hardy said. "Being a good defensive team takes a ton of effort. It takes multiple efforts on every possession and that’s something we’ve been stressing in practice and the guys are getting better and better. They’re very bought-in on that end.”

Next up, the Jazz host the Pelicans again on Thursday. We'll see whether Utah can duplicate its defensive dominance and what sort of counterpunch Williamson and company can deliver. 

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