The Utah Jazz began the season as one of the surprise teams in the NBA and near the top of the Western Conference standings. With more than half of the season gone by and the trade deadline in the rearview, the Jazz have come back down to earth. They are still alive in the race for the postseason but they aren’t taking any teams by surprise anymore as they were early on. Even so, it’s been a solid debut for Jazz first-year head coach Will Hardy. Prior to the Jazz’ game against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, Hardy received heavy praise from coaching legend Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs as per Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. Hardy was a former assistant under Gregg Popovich with the Spurs from 2015-2021.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich on Jazz coach Will Hardy: pic.twitter.com/q6M0e8WR8h
— Eric Walden (@tribjazz) February 26, 2023
“He was a pretty impressive individual from the get-go. So I put him out on the court quickly with the guys and found that he commanded respect very quickly, just by being himself and teaching,” Popovich said. “He’s got a good wry sense of humor that he uses, and then I slowly fell in love with guy, and then he matriculated to the bench and showed that you understand the game, and made suggestions that were meaningful. He doesn’t say much unless he thinks he needs to; he’s got a great temperament – much better than mine. And I actually learned from him in a lot of those situations, as much or more than he learned from me.”
NBA Odds: Spurs vs. Jazz prediction, pick, how to watch – 2/25/2023
·
Is Jeremy Sochan playing vs. Jazz?
·
Jazz won’t seek compensation from Hawks if Quin Snyder hired as HC
·
The Jazz are currently 30-31 behind Will Hardy and in 1oth place in the Western Conference standings. That would be good enough for a play-in spot.