The Utah Jazz couldn’t end their lengthy losing streak in their second game of a back-to-back on Wednesday night, as the Orlando Magic would come into Delta Center and take home a 123-108 victory, leaving Utah at a brutal 1-11 record on the season.
The Jazz went into the night looking a bit depleted, as they have many times so far this season: no Lauri Markkanen, no Jaren Jackson Jr., and no Jusuf Nurkic, leaving this frontcourt down all three of their typical starters.
And against an also-struggling Magic team with just four wins on the year, Utah still didn’t have enough firepower to counter.
It’s a loss for Jazz head coach Will Hardy that, actually, hasn’t been as bad as a few others throughout the course of their now-10-game losing streak.
In reality, Hardy felt as if there was a lot of “good basketball” being played throughout the night, most notably on the offensive side of the ball. But in the end, the Jazz got sloppy in the fourth quarter, which wound up potentially being the difference.
“You guys are probably getting tired of hearing it, but I’m not going to get tired of saying it: there’s a lot of good basketball being played,” Hardy said after the loss. “We’ve got to keep fighting for our focus to try to maintain it. I think we’re seeing the blueprint for how our team needs to play. I think the guys are recognizing it.”
“I thought the volume of threes and catch-and-shoot attempts we took tonight was at the level we wanted. Our ability to draw fouls and get to the line was good… I’m seeing a ton of good trends. I think the team is really trying to share the ball. We just didn’t make enough shots tonight and were a little sloppy in the fourth quarter with the turnovers. But on we go.”
While the Jazz did have some strong points to bank on throughout the night, including giving away just 11 turnovers on the night, Utah still struggled to make enough shots, as has been the case many times this season.
It’s the fourth time this season that the Jazz have lost after shooting less than 42% from the field as a team, and their sixth time this season shooting less than 32% from three as a team.
But Hardy also feels as if the Jazz, even as the losses continue to pile up early in the season, a lot of positive habits continue to be built throughout the process.
The players on the floor have bought in as Hardy has expected. A winning mindset continues to be at the forefront, yet the results continue to not fall within their favor.
“Yeah, I mean, we’re fighting every day to build that foundation of habits. We’re trying to win every night. That’s the goal, and the guys want it badly,” Hardy continud. ” They’re really bought in and giving everything they have to the team.”
“Our goal is to win games, and we’re not getting those results right now. We’ve got to keep fighting to extend those habits.”
The Jazz will have one day off before they’re back on the road to face the Houston Rockets in what will be their second NBA Cup game of the new year. Maybe then could be a good time for Utah to snap their league-high 10 losses in a row.
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