Utah Jazz ahead Kelly Olynyk (41)is surrounded on protection by the Milwaukee Bucks in Salt Lake Metropolis on Friday, March 24, 2023. The Bucks received 144-116. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret Information
The Utah Jazz performed one of the best workforce within the NBA on Friday evening and it didn't go very nicely. The Milwaukee Bucks waltzed their technique to a very simple 144-116 win.
It ought to be famous that the Jazz performed with out Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson, Collin Sexton and Rudy Homosexual, however irrespective of the circumstances it was certainly one of, if not the worst and ugliest losses of the season for this Jazz workforce.
Utilizing humor to lighten the temper
Jazz head coach Will Hardy went into the locker room after the loss and seemed round at a workforce that was disenchanted, annoyed and embarrassed. He figured that perhaps one of the best ways to deal with issues was with just a little humor.
“Properly, we virtually had ‘em,” he stated.
The joke went over so nicely that Hardy busted it out as soon as once more when he opened up his publish sport press convention with reporters.
“He got here in and made a joke as a substitute of grilling us,” Talen Horton-Tucker stated. “It’s so much higher to be in an atmosphere like that when a coach just isn't gonna harp on an excessive amount of of the unhealthy, to have a brief time period reminiscence like all of us have been saying we must always.”
In an 82-game season there are definitely some good instructing moments and there are conditions the place it is smart to be mad. However when Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Vacation and Brook Lopez simply run circles round you as a result of they're a well-oiled, battle-tested machine, it’s very easy to only take a look at the end result and say precisely what Hardy did.
“It’s an important studying second for our workforce,” Hardy stated. “As a result of that’s the place we wish to be, like we wish to be on the degree of that workforce. And typically within the NBA, it feels worse than it's.”
Fontecchio taking pictures on the transfer
There are literally quite a lot of gamers within the NBA that may hit catch-and-shoot 3-pointers. There are so much that may reliably hit 3’s off the dribble. However there are fewer shooters which can be capable of hit 3’s on the transfer.
Simone Fontecchio, who had a career-high 26 factors in opposition to the Bucks, is slowly however steadily displaying an increasing number of why the Jazz wished to offer him a shot and why he could possibly be a helpful a part of a workforce going ahead.
One of many issues he can do nicely is flip a nook off a display and get a shot off actually shortly. And when he does that, everybody of his teammates and coaches believes that it’s going to go in.
“It’s extremely useful,” Hardy stated. ”After we discuss 3-point taking pictures within the NBA and the way vital it's, among the finest shooters, sure they make pictures, however essentially the most spectacular factor is what number of they'll get off. Like Steph Curry is the premier shooter within the league and his biggest ability is his capacity to get 3’s off in tight home windows with an array of footwork going each methods…(Simone’s) achieved a extremely good job on the transfer. He’s very athletic and he’s capable of finding stability nicely and he has an excellent broad base. So it’s an enormous luxurious for us.”
The Aussie returns
Joe Ingles hadn’t performed a sport in Vivint Enviornment since Jan. 26, 2022.
After tearing his ACL on the street on Jan. 30 2022, the Jazz ended up buying and selling Ingles to the Portland Path Blazers. This previous offseason, he signed a free agent cope with the Milwaukee Bucks and eventually made his return to play on Dec.19, simply two days after the Jazz have been in Milwaukee.
On Friday evening the Jazz welcomed Ingles again to Utah with a tribute video. Ingles’ spouse Renae was sitting courtside, and couldn’t assist however shed some tears in the course of the tribute.
“Watching it brings again quite a lot of good reminiscences and eight years of fairly good occasions — nice, nice occasions,” Ingles stated after the sport. “I noticed Renae and Renae misplaced it. … It was good to have that and clearly coming again to see quite a lot of acquainted faces and a few good individuals and have Renae right here and another family and friends come down that also dwell right here. So yeah fairly, fairly cool.”
Joe Ingles again at Vivint pic.twitter.com/CC0ByfzkuV
— Sarah Todd (@NBASarah) March 25, 2023