Jazz’s Will Hardy Explains Difficulty Facing Warriors, Steph Curry

It's never an easy task to go against the Golden State Warriors for as long as Stephen Curry is leading the show.

And for the Utah Jazz over the weekend, that tall task was one they couldn't overcome on the road in a 114-123 loss to the Warriors, marking their third loss in a row and dropping their overall record on the year to 12-22. Curry contributed for a typical explosive 32-point outing, Jimmy Butler and Quentin Post contributed for 15 of their own apiece, and in turn, left Utah unable to walk out of this one with a win.

But that difficulty when going against the Warriors, for Jazz head coach Will Hardy, isn't exactly as center-focused on a talent like Curry as one may expect. In reality, the challenge against Golden State really depends on the offensive sets and concepts they use involving their Hall of Famer and the others around the floor.

"One of the hardest things about playing against the Warriors is: you're prepping for concepts, not plays. Because of how they play, in particular," Hardy said before facing the Warriors. "Because of how Steph and Draymond are able to have this controlled freelance style on offense. You end up spending your time talking about a bunch of different concepts."

"If Steph's running off of a pin down with a small setting, and you're switching, you have to be connected, but you don't want to give up the slip layup. So, their ability to be successful in those moments is because of their execution, it's Draymond, if he's facilitating, it's the screener, recognizing when to set, when to slip. Steph is the person that draws the attention, But I think Draymond and all of the other players on the team, have to execute at a high level because of the variety of actions that Steph creates."

Warriors Were Too Much for Jazz in 114-123 Loss

Against the Warriors, the Jazz were able to keep most of those around Curry in check throughout the night, but also allowed Curry to score his 11th 30-plus point game of the season, and his second this year against the Jazz in particular.

Even with Lauri Markkanen chipping in for 35 himself on an efficient 55.5% from the field, the Jazz's defense and consistency on that end of the floor continue to be what hurts them down the stretch, especially when going against one of the best offensive superstars the NBA has ever seen.

Jan 3, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) walks down the court during the third quarter against the Utah Jazz at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images | John Hefti-Imagn Images

The Jazz will have two more games against the Warriors on their regular season calendar, one of those coming at the end of the month, which can hope to provide a bit of revenge for Utah as they now drop to 1-9 in their past 10 games against Golden State, dating back to 2022.

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