The Utah Jazz are a bad basketball team and they shouldn't be. That's another article coming, however. No, the Jazz are a bad basketball team and it may simply be due to the fact that some of the players on the team don't care enough to try and win. And duh. We've seen saying for weeks now that the team is selfish and lazy on defense.
That's not new, and the fact we had to see 15 games of this nonsense in order for something to be said is a new low for the franchise during this era. Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy took to the media after the loss to the Los Angeles Lakers and said that the Jazz needed to do two things; pass and play hard.
The Jazz got bodied by the Lakers and so when the next game against the Portland Trail Blazers came around, the Jazz could've used that win as a "get right" game, a game where they double down on what they want to be and showcase it for the sake of their own egos and self esteem. Instead, the Blazers bodied the Jazz harder than the Lakers did.
And after that game, Hardy basically summed it up; the team isn't trying to win. Telling the media (via Sports Illustrated.com);
"If you’re gonna wear a Utah Jazz jersey, you have to give a s*** about the Utah Jazz."
Clearly the Jazz has players who don't. Guys like Jordan Clarkson, Talen Horton-Tucker, and even Collin Sexton all come to mind as guys who don't seem to care. While Sexton has shown to be a dynamic scorer, he doesn't pass but he's highly efficient shooting the ball. But he also doesn't play defense.
Then you have Clarkson and Horton-Tucker, who even at their best version of themselves, don't play defense and aren't that consistent while scoring. Then you throw into the fact that both men can have five to seven turnovers a game on a whim, and it makes you wonder what it is they're doing, because playing good basketball isn't it.
The Jazz spend too much time letting guys like Clarkson and Horton-Tucker stunt, instead of running as part of a larger offense. This could be what Hardy is talking about to some degree, but the lack of effort on defense seems to be a bigger issue and that may not just focus on the usual band of players.
We've seen John Collins absolutely struggle to play consistent good defense, in fact he's one of the worst rated defenders on the team, right alongside Sexton, Clarkson and Keyonte George. The team has too many players who care too much about their stast and not enough on plaing team basketball on either side of the court.
It's why this team is doomed unless it starts making massive trades sooner rather than later.