Jazz HC Gushes Over Nickeil Alexander-Walker in Warriors Loss
For the second time this season, the Utah Jazz dropped their third game in a row, falling to the Golden State Warriors on the road, 129-118, on Friday night. It was a game where the Jazz's three-ball just didn't want to go in, and the team struggled to match up with the Warriors, especially in transition.
Although Utah finished with six double-digit scorers on the night, the story of the game was its inability to hit from three-point land. The Jazz went 11-of-45 (24.4%) from deep, and the Warriors made them pay in transition. The Warriors shot the three well, finishing 20-of-45 (44.4%).
"Overall, no, I’m not happy with it, but it’s tough because of how many shots we missed from three," Jazz coach Will Hardy said post-game. "Golden State is one of the best teams ever playing with numbers in transition. They do such a good job of locating their shooters, and tonight, it felt like they made every one of them."
Transition defense has been a problem for Utah all season long, and believe it or not, it's been a huge point of emphasis for Hardy's coaching staff. But I guess Rome wasn't built in a day.
"It’s an area that has been a huge focus for us," Hardy said of transition defense. "It’s an area that will continue to be a huge area for us. 34 missed threes, that’s a lot of opportunities for them to get out and run, so I’ll have to go back and watch them. Obviously, the ones after made baskets are always going to be the ones that bother us more than the ones after misses. If you score a bucket, you have to get back and get matched up."
Hardy pointed out how there's a reason NBA teams have tried to copy-cat the Warriors model.
"A lot of teams in the NBA are trying to emulate things the Warriors have done for things, which is, get the ball out of the net quick and race it up the court," Hardy said. "Draymond Green has been one of the best players at that in recent memory, so it’s an area that we’re going to continue to hammer home and I definitely think that our team will continue to respond.”
Utah was led in scoring by Lauri Markkanen with 24 points, while Jordan Clarkson and Kelly Olynyk chipped in 21 points, respectively. Arguably, the story of the night was seeing Nickeil Alexander-Walker get 30 minutes of playtime, and how he helped Utah turn the ship around with his penetration and ball distribution on offense, and his tenacious defense.
Alexander-Walker finished with only eight points, but had six assists, five boards, three steals, and a blocked shot. Color Hardy more than impressed.
“I thought Nickeil was unbelievable," Hardy said. "His defense, getting over screens, using his length, being disruptive. I really think that Nickeil is the player that turned the game for us, and kept us in the game. He came in, his defensive energy, getting the ball to the paint, and moving it to his teammates. He really did a marvelous job of keeping us in the game and sort of helping us get back to what we wanted to do."
It seems like Alexander-Walker's veteran teammates could take a few cues from his intensity and drive, especially on defense where the Jazz have been about as stiff as a summer breeze this season.
"He’s shown a knack on the defensive end for not getting screened," Hardy said. "He did a great job of mixing, going under and over on some of the stuff with Klay Thompson, so really, really happy with the way he played tonight. I thought he represented himself great.”
The Jazz fall to 12-9 on the season and will be in search of answers in yet another back-to-back on Saturday night vs. the Phoenix Suns.
"Big game tomorrow," Hardy said of the Suns matchup.
Follow Inside The Jazz on Facebook and Twitter.
Subscribe on YouTube for breaking Jazz news videos and live-stream podcasts!
