Zion Williamson and Kelly Olynyk combine for 50 in Pelicans win over Jazz

It came as no surprise that five of the Utah Jazz’s six highest scorers were in street clothes on Sunday night. After all, the New Orleans Pelicans are a team the Jazz are competing with to see who can rack up the most losses by the end of the season.

But Jazz head coach Will Hardy is not the tank-master. It’s his job to steer the ship, no matter what crew is available.

So when he has the chance to dole out huge minutes to players who don’t often get those minutes, he expects those players to firmly grab hold of the opportunity and prove that they are deserving of more.

Unfortunately, that’s not what happened on Sunday at the Delta Center in the Jazz’s 128-121 loss to the Pelicans.

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“Seventy-six points in the paint is unacceptable, I don’t care who plays in the game,” Hardy said. “In the first half, they scored 36 points on layups and only shot four free throws. ... It’s a moment of refocusing for everybody that wants to play more. Because everybody wants to play more, and then you get a chance to do it, and you go out there and you don’t execute, and that’s frustrating.”

Notably, Zion Williamson finished with 24 points on 11-of-18 shooting and former Jazzman Kelly Olynyk finished with a team-high 26 points for New Orleans, and both players had a pretty easy time of reaching those point totals.

Rookie Kyle Filipowski was neither strong enough nor familiar enough to handle Williamson on his own and received little-to-no help in guarding the Pelicans' best player.

When Brice Sensabaugh was given the tough assignment of guarding Willaimson, he didn’t add any more resistance. Both players were playing way too low and then got bullied and paid for their positional mistakes.

Then, when Olynyk had the ball, it seemed that there wasn’t nearly enough respect given to the 12-year veteran, who has an incredibly versatile offensive game that Jazz players and their fans are familiar with.

“Kelly, who I love, was Wilt Chamberlain for a minute, just ducking in on every play, getting a layup. It’s unacceptable,” Hardy said. “There’s no words to describe some of those plays. I don’t mean that in a way to slight K.O., but there’s no way that he should be dominating the paint like he did early in the game. You have to come to the games desperate. You have to come to the games with the respect of your opponent.”

One of the lone bright defensive spots of the night came from two-way player Oscar Tshiebwe, who was by far the Jazz’s best defender against Williamson and was clawing to help on every possession, despite his lack of time spent with the Jazz and his shortcomings when it comes to understanding everything the team does schematically.

“You want more opportunity, and so you have to be ready when you get it. I don’t expect every shot to go in. I don’t expect our basketball skills to be perfect at all times,” Hardy said. “But I do expect this job to be treated with the respect that it deserves. And I love all the guys in the locker room. They’re human beings. It wasn’t their best night. But the frustrating part is that there’s so much opportunity on our team right now ... and that opportunity needs to be met with the desperation that it deserves, because the NBA will stop for no one.”