Jazz's Will Hardy Sounds Off on Walker Kessler's Historic Night

The Utah Jazz couldn't squeeze out a victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night, falling short 109-118 for their fourth-straight loss. However, it wasn't without an awe-inspiring and even historic performance from third-year center Walker Kessler.

The Jazz big man had a strong night in the box score –– posting 18 points, 25 rebounds, and eight blocks, effectively tying the Utah franchise record for rebounds in a half, logging 18 in the first.

Following the contest, Jazz head coach Will Hardy reacted to Kessler's big night.

"Walker had an amazing night on the glass," Hardy said. "18 rebounds in the first half. I'm on Walker endlessly about his energy, his effort, flying around, being disruptive, being an energy giver to our team, and I think he's answering that call for the most part. So, I'm happy for him individually, but we've got to do a better job as a group rebounding. Their wings crashing is ultimately why we didn't win."

The Jazz did end up winning the rebounding battle on the night, outdoing Toronto 56 to 48, but in Hardy's eyes, there wasn't enough surrounding Kessler on the glass to inevitably get the win in this one.

A few other factors didn't help either. The Jazz shot a collective 25.8% from deep on 31 shots, while also allowing 24 turnovers to Toronto's eight. When the shots simply aren't falling and ball security isn't tight-knit, it's hard for any team to overcome that for a victory.

Regardless, Kessler got his due shine in this one as another part of his strong third season in Salt Lake City. The Jazz big man has averaged a career-high in virtually every stat category across his third-year pro, and he hasn't shown any plans of letting up on that based on the numbers he produced on Friday.

Kessler will have his chance to keep the momentum moving forward during the Jazz's next showing on Sunday when they travel to face the Philadelphia 76ers.

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