Tag: Utah Jazz

Jazz’s Will Hardy has high praise for Gregg Popovich after Spurs win

Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy showed love to San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich after the Spurs’ win in Utah.

The San Antonio Spurs traveled west on Wednesday night to take on the Utah Jazz in their first road game after an eight-game home stand at the Frost Bank Center (that also included some time in Austin). They walked out of the Delta Center with a 118-111 win over the Jazz, marking their second victory in a row after they picked up a win over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night without Victor Wembanyama.

The game was particularly fun, considering it was against former Spurs assistant Will Hardy, who is in his second season as the head coach of the Jazz.

After the game, Hardy had some very high praise for Gregg Popovich. (H/t Tom Osborn of the San Antonio Express-News)

“Pop is an animal,” Hardy said. “There are few people on this planet I would never doubt. He is one of them.”

Hardy spent six seasons in San Antonio coaching under Popovich.

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Victor Wembanyama says Taylor Hendricks’ dunk attempt was ‘bad choice’

Victor Wembanyama spoke about Taylor Hendricks’ decision to go for a dunk late in the San Antonio Spurs’ win over the Utah Jazz.

The San Antonio Spurs picked up a 118-111 win over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night. It marked their second victory in a row after they took down the Phoenix Suns without Victor Wembanyama on Monday night. Wembanyama returned to the lineup and, along with Devin Vassell’s 31 points, overwhelmed the Jazz.

Wembanyama took on fellow rookie Taylor Hendricks. With roughly seven seconds left in the game, Hendricks drove and rose for a dunk against both Wembanyama and Jeremy Sochan. Sochan sent him packing, as both he and Wembanyama were there to clean things up, not allowing Hendricks to dunk the ball in the final moments of the contest.

After the game, Wembanyama questioned Hendricks’ decision to go for the slam. (H/t Tom Osborn of the San Antonio Express-News)

“Regardless of the challenge of sometimes wanting to dunk on your opponent, it was a bad choice, I think,” Wembanyama said. “You got to be smart.”

Wembanyama finished the game with five blocks, while Hendricks scored eight points on 3-of-8 shooting.

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Devin Vassell credits Gregg Popovich for ‘Spurs basketball’ vs. Jazz

After the San Antonio Spurs’ win over the Utah Jazz, Devin Vassell credited Gregg Popovich.

Following their huge, Victor Wembanyama-less win over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night, the San Antonio Spurs looked to keep the ball rolling on Wednesday. They succeeded in that goal, taking down the Utah Jazz with Wembanyama back in the lineup. They earned a 118-111 win over the Jazz in their first road game since March 9.

Devin Vassell led the way for the Spurs against the Jazz, as he managed to score 31 points. Meanwhile, Wembanyama put up 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and five blocks. As for San Antonio as a team, they dished out a wild 40 assists on 40 made baskets.

After the game, Vassell credited head coach Gregg Popovich for their play, calling it “Spurs basketball.” (H/t ESPN)

“That’s Spurs basketball … and Pop preaches it all the time,” Vassell said Popovich. “We were knocking down shots today and everybody was sharing it.”

The victory marked the Spurs’ fifth win in the month of March.

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Victor Wembanyama praises Devin Vassell after Spurs win over Jazz

After the San Antonio Spurs’ win over the Utah Jazz, Victor Wembanyama praised Devin Vassell.

Following the San Antonio Spurs’ blowout loss to the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night, they bounced back with a win over that same Suns team on Monday. Fast forward to Wednesday, they won their second game in a row as Victor Wembanyama returned to the lineup after missing their win over Phoenix.

Wembanyama played well against the Jazz, but it wasn’t actually him to led the way. Instead, it was Devin Vassell who was the best player on the floor. Vassell finished the game with 31 points, four rebounds, and six assists while shooting 12-of-20 from the field and 4-of-8 from behind the three-point line.

After the game, Wembanyama praised Vassell’s offensive game, noting how hard he makes it on opposing defenses. (H/t ESPN)

“He’s becoming a real problem for defenses,” Wembanyama said of Vassell. “It’s beautiful to see him evolve like this throughout the year.”

Vassell’s emergence as an elite offensive talent is huge for the Spurs.

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In aftermath of fight, NBA suspends Houston’s Jabari Smith Jr. for Monday’s game vs. Portland

In the aftermath of Saturday’s physical altercation, the NBA suspended Utah’s Kris Dunn for two games and Houston’s Jabari Smith Jr. for one.

The NBA suspended Utah Jazz guard Kris Dunn for two games and Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. for one, citing their roles in an on-court altercation during Saturday’s game in Houston.

Smith will miss Monday’s home game versus Portland. Veteran Jeff Green is his likely replacement in Houston’s starting lineup.

From the league’s announcement:

Dunn was suspended two games without pay for initiating an altercation and throwing a punch at Smith Jr., who was suspended one game for fighting with Dunn, it was announced by Joe Dumars, executive vice president and head of basketball operations (for the NBA).

The incident, for which both were assessed technical fouls and ejected, occurred with 11:55 remaining in the second quarter of the Rockets’ 147-119 win over Utah.

Dunn will begin to serve his suspension on Monday, when the Jazz host Dallas. Smith Jr. will serve his suspension that night when the Rockets host Portland.

Extended video of the exchange can be viewed below, along with postgame comments by Dunn (audio) on his perspective. Smith was not made available to reporters by the Rockets, though he did react with “Lol” on social media shortly after Sunday’s announcement.

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Utah’s Will Hardy sees incredible coaching by Ime Udoka in Houston

Utah’s Will Hardy on the coaching of Ime Udoka in Houston: “I think what he’s been able to do with this group, this season, is pretty remarkable.”

Will Hardy, head coach of the Utah Jazz, has inside knowledge of his Houston counterpart, Ime Udoka. Hardy was a prominent assistant to Udoka when the latter was head coach in Boston, and both were assistants to Gregg Popovich for years in San Antonio.

Under Udoka’s leadership, Houston exited Saturday (after a win over the visiting Jazz) as arguably the NBA’s hottest team. The Rockets (35-35) have won eight straight games and have a 10-1 record in March, best of any team in the league. That’s put them back in the postseason race in the Western Conference.

Prior to that game at Toyota Center, Hardy spoke to Rockets Wire regarding Udoka’s performance during his first season in Houston.

Hardy’s comments:

I think Ime has done an incredible job. You can see, by the way that their team plays, that they are mirroring his personality. They’re a tough-minded, defensive team. I think what he’s been able to do with this group, this season, is pretty remarkable.

It’s been fun to watch from afar, because I love Ime. But they’re no fun to play against, because they’re very physical, and the switching is tough to score against. And they have some talented offensive players.

I think what Ime has done in Year 1 here is pretty special.

The complete video can be viewed below.

The Rockets entered this season coming off three consecutive years at the basement of the West standings, though all three of those teams were coached by Udoka’s predecessor, Stephen Silas.

Now, under Udoka, the Rockets rank in the NBA’s 10 best defenses of the 2023-24 season after being near the bottom in recent years.

The offseason additions of key veterans Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks certainly helped, but so, too, has Udoka’s guidance.

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Full injury report for Wednesday’s Jazz vs. Thunder matchup

Full injury report for Wednesday’s Jazz vs. Thunder matchup.

The Oklahoma City Thunder return from a three-day break when they host the Utah Jazz on Wednesday. It’s the last contest between the two squads as OKC won two of the first three.

The Thunder (47-20) enters the contest with a clean bill of health. Adam Flagler (G League two-way) is out.

Meanwhile, the Jazz (29-39) have a lengthy injury report. They hope to keep their top-10 protected first-round pick. They’ve lost eight of their last 10 contests.

Lauri Markannen (quadriceps contusion, injury maintenance) is out. John Collins (facial contusion) is questionable. Jordan Clarkson (groin strain) is out.

Darius Bazley (G League assignment) is out. Kenneth Lofton Jr. (G League assignment) is out. Micah Potter (G League two-way) is out. Jason Preston (G League two-way) is out. Johnny Juzang (G League two-way) is out.

In their last contest, OKC escaped an upset with a close win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday.

The Jazz lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in two consecutive games with their latest loss on Monday.

Tipoff from Oklahoma City is set for 7 p.m. CT.

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Kyle Anderson’s eyes almost popped out of his head watching Anthony Edwards’ epic dunk over John Collins

Anthony Edwards’ teammates couldn’t believe it either.

Anthony Edwards’ dunk over John Collins Monday is the NBA’s likely dunk of the year. The Ant-Man hit a button to transform into Giant-Man and absolutely destroyed the person in front of him. If you haven’t seen it yet, you’ll definitely want to check out every angle of this gravity-defying dunk.

Now, whatever reaction you had to watching it, just imagine if you had seen it in person — just a few feet away. That was the experience of Kyle Anderson, and his real-time reaction told the whole story of how incredible the dunk was.

You know an athlete is on another level when other athletes on the floor can’t believe what they’re seeing.

On this day: NBA suspends season following Rudy Gobert’s positive COVID-19 test in OKC

On this day: NBA suspends season following Rudy Gobert’s positive COVID-19 test in OKC.

On this day four years ago, Oklahoma City set off a chain reaction that led to the United States essentially shutting down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On March 11, 2020, the NBA postponed the Utah Jazz vs. Oklahoma City Thunder game due to Rudy Gobert testing positive for COVID-19. Gobert was the first known NBA player to test positive for the virus.

Later that night, the league suspended its season. In the following days, sports leagues across the country followed suit — either suspending or canceling their seasons.

The Thunder entered that date just one game behind the Jazz for a top-four seed in the Western Conference standings. It was billed as a critical game for OKC’s chances of earning homecourt advantage in the playoffs with roughly a month left in the regular season.

Instead, it marked the unofficial start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The league resumed its season five months later on July 30 in a bubble environment at Disney World in Florida. The Thunder were one of the 22 teams invited to the bubble, and teams weren’t allowed to leave it until their season concluded.

The league scheduled eight regular-season games for all 22 teams and also introduced the play-in tournament concept during the bubble.

The Thunder’s season ended in a Game 7 loss of their first-round series against the Houston Rockets. The only Thunder players remaining from that roster are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort.

Following their exit, the Thunder blew up their roster and shifted to development mode. Chris Paul was traded to the Phoenix Suns. Steven Adams was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans. Dennis Schroder was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers and Danilo Gallinari signed with the Atlanta Hawks.

The Thunder also changed head coaches, going from Billy Donovan to Mark Daigneault.

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Former King in the Fourth Isaiah Thomas on why he chose the G League for an NBA comeback

“Ultimately I’m just fighting for an opportunity,” said IT.

The Boston Celtics’ former King in the Fourth is back in the NBA ecosystem. There’s much buzz in the league media on how Isaiah Thomas has signed a deal to play for the Utah Jazz’ developmental affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars. It is inked for the rest of this season as he gears up for a push to return to an NBA roster for the postseason.

“Ultimately I’m just fighting for an opportunity, I’m just trying to show teams that I’m still able to produce on the court, but I’m also most importantly, I’m able to teach these young guys,” explained the man himself in a recent interview on “FanDuel’s Run It Back” podcast.

As to why he is electing to pursue a comeback via the G League instead of playing overseas, Thomas revealed it was more than a basketball decision.

“Overseas is really dope,” he said. “I see those games, I love the game of basketball. It’s just at this point in my life, with my family and my kids, it’d be really hard to go overseas, unless they were giving out 10-day contracts, and then I could make it happen.”

“I think this is the quickest route to get back in the NBA, and to get on a playoff roster by the end of the season,” IT added.

Fans of the Celtics can’t help but wonder if he might be a good fit for Boston’s 15th roster spot. But even if that unlikely pairing does not come to fruition, we wish him the best in getting back to the league he loves so much.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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