Will Hardy Calls Out Utah Jazz for Recent Defensive Lapses

The Utah Jazz fell victim to their fourth loss in a row against the Portland Trail Blazers in blowout fashion, 117-137, leaving the Jazz winless to start the new year and now reside in the bottom three of the Western Conference at 12-23.

Offensively, the Jazz have had a lot of optimism to bank on this season. Lauri Markkanen and Keyonte George have continued to find their groove as a budding scoring duo in the league. Top-five pick Ace Bailey, while currently injured, has shown his flashes on that side of the ball, and Utah currently ranks in the top half of the NBA offenses because of it.

It's on the defensive end where the Jazz have continued to struggle— sinking to the league's worst-rated unit on that side of the floor, consistently allowing 130 points per game collectively through the past month (6/13), and come off one of their worst defensive performances of the season against Portland for what turned out to be a 20-point blowout.

The topic caught the attention of Jazz head coach Will Hardy following the events of the Jazz's four-game losing streak, where he made it clear his group has to step up better defensively and have more physicality moving forward.

"The theme right now, defensively, is: we have to up our physicality. We have to up our intensity, and we have to up our anticipation on the weak side," Hardy said after the loss vs. Portland. "Our team is top half of the league offensively and we're last defensively. It takes accountability of each individual, for us to have any collective accountability on that side of the ball."

"Defense is tiring. Defense is not fun, but defense is what gives you the opportunity to win," Hardy continued. "We can't show up to the games thinking that we're just gonna outscore everybody. That's an unsustainable approach. And right now, where we are as a team and as a program, we're trying to build sustainable habits, a sustainable approach for long-term success. And our focus on the defensive side of the ball, individually has to go up."

"I think there's a lot of commentary about people's stats. Stats end up getting people paid, but defense is what's going to give us a chance to win."

Will Hardy Urges More Defensive Intensity for Jazz

It's nothing new for the Jazz to be a bit lackluster on the defensive side of the floor; they've had those issues for the past three years now.

However, if the Jazz want to turn the ship around in the right direction to build a competitive roster in due time, the defensive side of the ball will have to evolve a bit better than the NBA's worst-rated unit on that end of the floor.

Walker Kessler's season-long absence does certainly make for a massive blow to the Jazz's ceiling defensively; undoubtedly the biggest loss Utah's roster could suffer to impact their ability to get consistent stops and have more effective rim protection. But on the perimeter, the Jazz still leave more to be desired, and the defensive-focused prospects selected over the past three summers (Cody Williams, Taylor Hendricks) are still trying to find their footing.

Jan 5, 2026; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara (33) drives to the basket during the second half against Utah Jazz forward Brice Sensabaugh (28) at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

The Jazz won't be so porous defensively forever, but after two prior seasons of struggling on that end of the floor, now being without their defensive anchor for the season, those issues may very well linger to the end of the regular season, and leave Will Hardy to head back to the drawing board over the offseason to find better results when this roster is healthier and more talented come next year.

But for now, Hardy will have to continue to be creative for what the Jazz put together defensively with the pieces they have in place for the next 45-plus games. There's bound to be development, but as also shown against Portland, there can certainly be growing pains in the process as well.

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