The Los Angeles Lakers are now 2-0 in their NBA Cup group after a win over Utah at home Tuesday night. Following the game, Jazz coach Will Hardy called out his team for failing to cover Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht on the perimeter even though his teammates kept feeding him play after play. Hardy’s postgame comments included some off-beat sarcasm as he expressed his disappointment.
Utah Jazz Coach Calls Out Team Over Lakers Sharpshooter
Jazz Coach Will Hardy Not Happy Dalton Knecht Shot As Many Threes As He Did
Thirty-seven points, including nine threes—that’s correct, nine threes for the rookie sharpshooter Knecht. His nine three-point shots tied a single-game rookie record, also marking his fourth consecutive game scoring double-digits. Knecht is quickly becoming the steal of the draft, if he’s not already, and the Lakers couldn’t be more pleased with that. However, Knecht’s remarkable shooting night is not the story coming out of the Utah Jazz locker room. No, they’re more concerned and disappointed with their inability to cover and prevent Knecht from shooting three after three after three. The Lakers were not shy about going to Knecht on many offensive possessions down the stretch. D’Angelo Russell made it a point to assist Knecht several times, ensuring he could get shots off, and the Jazz couldn’t stop him.
If you ask Coach Hardy, he was unhappy with his players’ defensive awareness while all of this was happening, and he didn’t shy away from calling them out postgame. He also pointed out that this experience is part of growing as a team.
“Obviously in the second half, it seemed like everybody in the gym knew that Dalton Knecht was gonna shoot the next shot with the exception of a few people. The problem was that those few people were on our team. The awareness to what’s going on in the game, the ability to recognize and solve problems as a team is something that we’re gonna have to continue to work on, and that’s gonna be a big part of our growth.”
Where Utah Sits in the West
Hardy is a very good, up-and-coming head coach with a bright future in the NBA. However, at this point in time, his team is uncompetitive and non-playoff-contending. At the rate the Jazz are going, they’re a lottery team with the likes of the Toronto Raptors or the Washington Wizards. As discouraging as that might sound, it’s not the worst outcome for the Jazz. The franchise is in a rebuild phase and could use a solid first-round draft pick next summer. Cooper Flagg is projected to go number one. If Utah is able to get their hands on him and pair him alongside Lauri Markkanen (provided Markkanen stays in Utah), that could be a franchise-altering achievement for Utah.
That’s next summer’s problem, though. In the here and now, Utah has other issues to address. Growing as a young team, building proper floor awareness, and learning how to solve problems are included. Those are some of the elements of the game Hardy recognizes as focal points of improvement. The good thing for Utah is they have all season to build and work on things. There are no pressures or expectations of making the playoffs. So, if Hardy and his guys are going to grow, this season is the perfect time for it.
