Utah Jazz’s inexperience is exposed in 41-point loss to Warriors

As the Utah Jazz navigate the 2024-25 NBA season prioritizing player development and focusing on trying to build chemistry with new lineups, they’ll have to face the fact that they are going to come up against teams that are worlds beyond development and bonding.

The first of what will likely be many examples of exactly that was on display at the Delta Center Friday night, as the Jazz were blown out 127-86 by the Golden State Warriors.

“That wasn’t pretty,” Jazz head coach Will Hardy said. “I think there’s a bunch of things to maybe point at, but I do recognize, for the guys, that it did feel like one of those nights where, for whatever reason, we couldn’t make shot.

“You know, Lauri (Markkanen) misses a bunch of free throws, there’s a bunch of wide open looks that we don’t make and as much as I wish that they weren’t human at certain times, they are, and that becomes deflating.”

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The Jazz went 9-of-42 from 3-point land, 0-of-9 on fast break opportunities, Markkanen went 4-of-17 from the field and not a single player had more than 14 points. It was a rough night on both sides of the ball.

Hardy’s hope is that the players are able to cultivate a way to play with grit and a zealous competitive spirit even when the shots aren’t going in or when the communication is off or mistakes are made.

That’s one of the goals for this group in the early part of this season — find a way to play through the growing pains.

And these issues — playing through inexperience, learning how to move past off nights, focusing on development, learning new ways to teach players — are unique to the rebuilding teams in the league, the teams that don’t have established history and immediate postseason goals.

“The Warriors play a unique style,” Hardy said. “They are very used to playing that way. They have a group that’s been together for a long time, and you can feel the continuity when you’re watching them play and when you’re competing against them, and we’re working towards that.”

Despite not being able to play on the same level or focus on more nuanced details on a day-to-day basis as some of the other teams in the league, Hardy has earned the respect of his peers and has made a name for himself.

Heading into his third season as head coach of the Jazz, Hardy is viewed as one of the up-and-coming coaches of the league despite the Jazz’s record under him, and part of the reason is his approach to development, his commitment to it and his success in getting players to buy into his vision.

“I‘m a huge fan. I just think Will is a star and I think he’s one of the brightest coaches in the league,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said.

“He’s obviously coaching a young team and he hasn’t been able to really show what he can do yet as a coach, I think, because we’re all dependent on talent and and what we have at our disposal, and the Jazz have been in rebuilding mode since he got here. He’s got a lot of great years ahead of him, and I’m sure things are going to get a lot better.”

That’s the goal.