Three thoughts on the Utah Jazz’s 140-103 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies from Salt Lake Tribune Jazz beat writer Andy Larsen.
1. Will Hardy rips his team
The Jazz lost the second half by 38 points, and Will Hardy was pretty furious about it postgame. The full rant is below — because I don’t necessarily just want to clip the most incendiary parts — but I will italicize the standout sections because they are unique for a head coach to be delivering at this time of year.
(Hardy’s opening statement)
“So, part of becoming a professional basketball player in the NBA and part of becoming an NBA team that’s competing, is the willingness to do simple things over and over again. I thought early in the game, the team on both sides of the ball was very active, connected, unselfish, and the second quarter, you know, we had some pockets where our play wasn’t perfect, but — the second half was unrecognizable in almost every way. There’s moments where stubbornness is cute and there’s moments where stubbornness is embarrassing. At some point, every person needs to look in the mirror and understand what’s being asked of them and try to do it to the best of their ability, at the highest level of intensity that they can.
“I’m a very competitive person, and there are moments where I feel like I’m having to restrain the core of who I am, because there seems to be an unwillingness, at times, to understand that this is not something that you can take for granted. The NBA will stop for no one, and our program will stop for nobody. There needs to be accountability of self first. And everybody on our team needs to understand that opportunity should not be taken lightly, and a lot of our young players are getting the chance to play in games to wear a Utah Jazz jersey and to represent themselves, and ultimately, we all have to answer for our performances.
“I’ve talked a lot about how we carry ourselves meaning something to me, and those words are not hollow. That second half was really disappointing, and it’s not representative of who we want to be as an organization. It’s not representative of who I want us to be. There are very few times where I’ve been disappointed in our group, and tonight I’ll drive home disappointed. But we have to all wake up tomorrow and get back to work. And it is one game. It is one half. I understand that, and I’ll get some sleep and wake up tomorrow with perspective. But during the game, perspective’s for the birds. The lights are on, you’re competing. You’re representing an organization, representing a fan base, our community. That was just unacceptable.”
Can I ask, maybe in more particular terms, what you thought was lacking on the court?
“Pass the mother — ball. Run back on defense. When it’s time to communicate what we’re doing on defense, you should do it at a volume louder than I’m talking to you right now. When there is a loose ball, you need to want it more than the other team.
“You are a member of a team. This is not about you. This is not a personal workout for you. I could go on and on and on, but you get the point. It’s a team game. And the moment that you make everything about yourself is the moment that it all goes bad. And it becomes an infection — one person does it, then another person does it, ‘oh, he didn’t pass to me,’ — and then the energy goes down, and then our defensive intensity and individual pride goes out the window, and the communication goes out the window. And then after every play, it’s like ‘what he was supposed to do,’ and it just becomes a finger pointing, and it’s disappointing, like, this is stuff that we talk about every day.
“I understand that one game and one half shouldn’t be something that any of us overreact to, but you put a lot of time and energy into it, a lot of thought into it, a lot of emotional energy into it, and it’s disappointing sometimes when you don’t feel like people are pouring into themselves and understanding the opportunity that they have. I don’t pretend to have all the answers. I’m a young coach. I’m still figuring a lot out. It’s my 15th year in the NBA, and I’ve seen a lot of players make it and I’ve seen a lot of guys behave in a way that if they could go back in time, they’d take it back. I thought we played like a team for about a half, and then it looked like a pickup game at Lifetime Fitness, where we just all met 10 seconds ago, and we’re all just kind of out here trying to get a workout.”
Look, Hardy is right: the players should be trying their hardest. This is, in reality, their NBA lives at stake, and that they are goofing off, trying to boost their own stats, playing for themselves, and generally giving up a whopping 40-point deficit in a half is rough. Other teams will notice, and their failure to play well reflects badly on the likelihood that they succeed in their NBA careers.
Also: this team is tanking. The organization itself is not trying its hardest. The players’ bosses are throwing games — via the injury report, via the rotations, via the trades they’ve made. And it is really difficult for people, especially young people, to turn themselves into machines that ignore that context.
This tanking situation is rough. Nine games left to go. Everyone needs the break, sooner rather than later.
2. NBA vs. NCAA player movement
This tweet went viral today, showing just how different the world of college basketball is now compared to how it was even five years ago:
To explain, each of the boxes above represent one team in the Sweet 16. The five logos in each box represent that team’s starting five, and where they started their collegiate careers.
The majority of teams here are unrecognizable. You can tell Duke is Duke, Houston is Houston, Purdue is Purdue, and BYU is BYU, sure. But for most of the Sweet 16, they have accumulated their talent through the transfer portal, not through development throughout a collegiate career.
What’s interesting is that the NBA is going the other way: Most of the teams in the NBA’s playoff system’s top 16 developed their players from the NBA draft.
I put together this equivalent chart for the professional level:
(NBA's "sweet 16" most frequent starting fives.)
The reputation is flipped, though. I think generally outsiders consider NBA players to be mercenaries, playing for whatever contract gives them the most money. But it appears college basketball players simply move more often.
3. I think Richie Saunders is an actually pretty good NBA Draft prospect
The Jazz are losing badly. In addition, the NBA’s post-game video site isn’t working tonight, so I can’t even really break down the action for you.
So instead, I’m going to publicly reveal a not-very-hot take I’ve had for a while. Despite coming into the season nearly entirely off the NBA radar, Richie Saunders’ season this year with BYU makes him actually a pretty good NBA Draft prospect.
Here’s the highlight tape, for those unfamiliar:
And here’s the pitch: he’s a 6-5, 200-pound shooting guard who has made 43% of his threes this year, is really quite athletic for the collegiate level and probably about average for the NBA, plays hard and has good technique defensively, and is a decent playmaker besides.
The downside: he’s 23, and will turn 24 in September. Given typical age curves, he’s probably not going to improve very much compared to your typical 19 year old.
For a first-round pick, I understand why a team would want to chase upside. But Saunders looks like he’s not that far off from being an NBA role player right now.
Saunders reminds me of another old college guard drafted last year, one who now plays for the Grizzlies: Cam Spencer. Spencer was awesome for UConn at the age of 23, thanks to his shooting (44%), basketball IQ, and impressive defensive efforts. His upside was limited by age (also, in Spencer’s case, height — he’s just 6-3). But the Grizzlies drafted him with the No. 53 pick, and he looked pretty good in limited minutes tonight.
Thanks to the size and athleticism bump, though, I’d take Saunders from an NBA perspective.
The question: would Saunders rather be a second-round pick in this year’s draft, or return to BYU and try again next year? BYU will surely offer him a million-dollar NIL deal. Would an NBA team offer him that same money? Maybe not — Spencer is on a two-way making just $575K, for example.
On the other hand, if I’m Saunders, the idea of entering the NBA Draft at age 25 scares me, especially given how much A.J. Dybantsa will have the ball next year. I’m not sure the Saunders sales pitch to NBA teams improves next year. If he skips his chance at the NBA now, he may not get another one.
It’s a tough choice! But one it’s cool that Saunders gets the opportunity to make. He never was really heralded as a future NBA guy, but I think he really has a chance after a terrific season this year.
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