Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy credits his team’s defense and unselfish play in a 114-112 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
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00:00 really like gritty team win against a good team.
00:05 I think our defensive focus is continuing to show up
00:10 for them to score 24 points in the first quarter
00:12 and then 24 points in the fourth quarter.
00:16 I think our team is improving on that end of the floor
00:20 in terms of our focus and how connected we are.
00:22 The middle of the game, they got away from us a little bit
00:25 in the second quarter.
00:26 They had 20 points in the paint.
00:29 Their spacing had us a little bit spread out.
00:31 I think we were a little too worried about Hawkins at times
00:34 and we left Zion in isolation.
00:39 And Balanchunas hurt us on some dump-offs
00:43 and on the offensive glass.
00:46 I think the best part for me watching the game is
00:52 we feel like a team.
00:55 Defensively, the communication is way better.
00:57 The connectivity is way better.
00:59 And then on the offensive end, I just think we have a lot of guys
01:03 that have shown the last two games a willingness
01:05 to just take what the game gives them
01:07 and play with their teammates.
01:10 To have 31 assists on 37 made baskets
01:13 with only 10 turnovers based on some of the things
01:17 we've seen so far this season would be considered a miracle.
01:23 But I think the team has just bought into kind of regrouping
01:28 and understanding that we don't have one player
01:31 that's going to save us.
01:34 Our team is not about one player.
01:37 We try our best to include the strengths of everybody
01:42 that takes the court to try to help us win.
01:45 And so the credit goes to the players for really buying into that.
01:50 Two guys I think in particular that I want to highlight,
01:55 Jordan had 10 assists and one turnover,
01:57 and Taylin had seven assists and zero turnovers.
02:01 Those two guys continuing to be playmakers for our team
02:04 is going to help us.
02:05 We can't just rely on Keontae and Kelly and some of the guys
02:10 that we would associate with being playmakers
02:13 in the early part of the season.
02:15 We need everyone to participate in that
02:17 Just a good team win.