The Utah Jazz fell to their second loss of the new season over the weekend in a 123-132 loss vs. the Los Angeles Lakers at the Delta Center.
And while much of the attention heading into the game had surrounded Walker Kessler and his homecoming to Utah for the first time as a part of the Lakers, the contest would be dominated by none other than star guard Luka Dončić in his most explosive outing of the season.
Dončić finished with a season-high 52 points, eight rebounds, 10 assists, and two steals, and became a real matchup problem for this young Jazz roster over the course of the day.
Will Hardy Feeling Surprisingly Positive After Jazz Loss vs. Lakers
However, even when factoring in the explosive performance from Dončić, Jazz head coach Will Hardy came out of the game feeling rather optimistic about where his team stood, all things considered.
"These experiences are great for our team," Hardy said after the Jazz's loss on Sunday. "The learning curve and execution are where we've got to continue to raise our focus."
Now, that doesn't mean Hardy is letting up on his critiques on how the Jazz performed over the weekend. There were still several aspects within the game that gives Utah things to work on and room to grow.
Yet, knowing how fresh this team still is in terms of their chemistry and playing with one another, along with the overall youth that this roster is built on, a game like this against the Lakers can still be a great learning experience for a team looking to take that next step in terms of competitiveness.
"Being young is not an excuse, and I don't want anyone to let themselves off the hook with that," Hardy continued post-game. "That being said, I think our team is improving in a bunch of areas. I think our offense has taken a step forward... think offensive rebounding has been a positive for us. I thought we put a ton of pressure on the paint, especially early in the game."
"But we gave in to fatigue, and our offense got a beat behind the music. We just didn't make quick decisions. We overdribbled. I hate jab steps with all my heart. It's hard when we get stuck because we're not an isolation team. We have to play a team style on offense."
The Jazz have proven through just three games that, while the mentality is slowly shifting and the young talent still has a ways to go to reach their full potential, there is some positive growth to build on heading deeper into this long 82-game season.
And in a game where two of the Jazz's better young players, Darryn Peterson and Ace Bailey, are defending some of the best offensive talents in the NBA today, those experiences––even in a losing effort––will only help them become more refined moving forward.
"These games against the best players are so good for our young guys," Hardy said. "Coming down the stretch, they have to look out there and see Austin Reaves and Luka Dončić, with Darryn and Ace guarding them. This stuff is going to pay off for our group moving forward."
"It doesn't take away from the loss, but I think, just like we learn from the games we win, we've got to go back with a level head, look at the truth about this game and try to control the things we can."
Add us as a preferred source on Google