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Through the first five games of the 2024-25 season, Keyonte George was not shooting the ball well.
Frankly, there were quite a few Utah Jazz players that were struggling to shoot (including Jordan Clarkson, Collin Sexton, Cody Williams and John Collins), but there was a lot of scrutiny when it came to George and rightfully so. When you’re the one that is playing point guard and supposed to be setting the tone, while also taking a lot of shots, there is going to be a high expectation for execution.
And it wasn’t just his 3-point shooting. He was missing in the midrange, lacking touch around the rim, and the rest of his game was suffering too. He was in a classic slump, shooting 20% from 3, just 28% from the field and averaging four turnovers per game.
After the first game of the season, and a 3-of-18 shooting performance from George, he was despondent. Shaking his head, staring at the floor when answering questions from reporters and clearly upset with himself. Interestingly, as the poor shooting nights mounted, George’s demeanor seemed to improve.
Part of this was due to a team-wide mandate from the coaching staff on body language.
“The games are way too long, and the season is way too long to overreact to everything that doesn’t go our way. The body language piece is a big deal for us as a group. We do not want to be a team that complains or begs for calls or is constantly feeling like you’re being wronged.”
— Jazz coach Will Hardy
“The games are way too long, and the season is way too long to overreact to everything that doesn’t go our way,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “The body language piece is a big deal for us as a group. We do not want to be a team that complains or begs for calls or is constantly feeling like you’re being wronged.”
The message was simple: Things are not always going to go your way, but you can’t just all look like sad puppies. Pick yourselves up and continue to fight for the full 48 minutes with your heads up.
Then, there was an additional message for George. As Hardy watched the young guard beat himself up over every mistake and every missed shot, he asked George what he would say to a teammate that was going through a slump?
Clearly, George would never tell a teammate to hang their head and be ashamed. He would tell a teammate to keep shooting, to believe in the work being done everyday and to shake off anything that goes wrong. Move onto the next play. Hardy told George to take his own advice, and to talk to himself the same way he would speak to a teammate.
Then he asked one more question.
“He asked me if I had a dog and I told him, yes,” George said. “I’m going to go home tonight and my dog ain’t gonna care if we lost. I mean, he’s just happy to see me. Tail gonna be wagging, he’s gonna want to go outside. That kind of puts you back in a place where, you know, we obviously want to come out here and win, this our profession. But the game is 48 minutes, and there’s 24 hours in a day. So we can’t let this 48 minutes destroy what we want to do outside of it. So, he’s helping me put things in perspective.”
Thankfully, the slump didn’t last long.
In the three games that followed that five-game slump, George shot 43.3% from 3-point land and averaged just two turnovers per game. And the success has been contagious as other players have started to find the bottom of the net as well.
New with the Jazz
Quote of the week
“It’s good to know that ... that we’re not that bad at shooting” — Utah Jazz coach Will Hardy.
From the archives
Extra points
- Losing and learning: How the Jazz are coping with mounting losses (Deseret News)
- ‘We’d had enough:’ Jazz get first win of the season (Deseret News)
- Who are college basketball draft prospects to watch, starting this week? (Deseret News)
- The Utah Jazz G League facility has a history with Stockton and Malone (KSL.com)
Around the league
- Joel Embiid suspended three games for altercation with columnist.
- Cavaliers surge to 10-0 start to the season in Kenny Atkinson’s first year with team.
- NBA never spoke with woman accusing Lakers’ Hayes of assault.
Up next
- Nov. 9 | 3 p.m. | Utah Jazz @ San Antonio Spurs | NBA TV
- Nov. 12 | 7 p.m. | Utah Jazz vs. Phoenix Suns | KJZZ
- Nov. 14 | 7 p.m. | Utah Jazz vs. Dallas Mavericks | NBA TV
- Nov. 16 | 8 p.m. | Utah Jazz @ Sacramento Kings | KJZZ