SALT LAKE CITY — The Memphis Grizzlies got a glimpse of Gordon Hayward's rapid recent improvement during his rookie season on Saturday night.
The first time the two teams played this season on Dec. 6, Hayward recorded a DNP-CD (did not play, coach's decision). This time, in the Jazz's 98-92 victory, Hayward played the entire fourth quarter and finished with 13 points and four rebounds.
That's a pretty decent stat-line improvement.
Hayward had two dunks in the fourth quarter and collected two rebounds. He applied what he's learned during his rookie season on both dunks — go hard to the basket or don't go at all.
"It's a learning process," Hayward said. "You learn in this league that if you go up soft, it's not going to work. They're not going to bail you out, so you might as well go up hard. And if you miss the dunk, at least you tried going up strong."
Hayward scored in double figures for the third straight game. In the fourth quarter, he took the playing time of Andrei Kirilenko, who still isn't 100 percent while dealing with a lower back strain.
"Gordon was playing pretty well," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan of his decision to play Hayward the entire fourth quarter. "Andrei didn't look as fluid as he had been before he got hurt. I thought Gordon was doing a pretty good job playing basketball, so I left him out there."
Kirilenko was impressed with his replacement's play.
"Gordon was tremendous," Kirilenko said. "He's a very talented guy, and we try to help him as much as possible, help him adjust (to the pro game). He's doing a pretty good job. Game to game to game, he keeps improving and that's how it's supposed to be."
Although Hayward's scoring is improving, that isn't necessarily the area of his game that's been most beneficial to the Jazz in recent games.
"He's stopped doing silly mistakes," Kirilenko said. "In the beginning of the season, he got a lot of fouls. He was fouling when it was not necessary. Now, he's paying attention, (realizing) not to draw contact before he has to."
Hayward led another boost from Utah's second team, especially in the second quarter. Hayward had his best quarter of the game in the second with eight points on 4-for-6 shooting while playing the entire period. He hit a long-range shot from just inside the 3-point line, a couple of short jumpers and a layup.
The Jazz bench outscored the Grizzlies' 32-6.
"Things are feeling better, that's for sure," Hayward said. "I think playing a little bit more allows me to get out there and kind of feel it a little bit. And as the experience of those minutes keeps coming, I think I get more comfortable and more comfortable and play with more confidence, and that's what I got to do."
Playing the entire fourth quarter also helped with Hayward's confidence level. It shows that Sloan has some trust in him, and the rookie responded by making key plays in Utah's victory.
"It's a confidence booster, for sure," Hayward said of playing during crucial moments in the game. "I know I still got a lot of work to do — a lot of work to do. I'm going to try and get better every single day."
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