Will Hardy Frustrated With Jazz's Defense in Loss vs. Warriors

The Utah Jazz fell came up short to the Golden State Warriors for their fourth-straight loss, 124-140, in another game where the team couldn't get things together on the defensive end.

It's the Jazz's ninth game this season of allowing 140 points or more in a game–– by far the most in the NBA–– which wound up with eight Warriors scoring in double figures throughout the night, led by Stephen Curry's 27.

After the game, head coach Will Hardy addressed the Jazz's defensive shortcomings that transpired.

"We were two steps behind on every action tonight defensively," Hardy said postgame ."Their cutting had us spinning like a top the entire game. And it resulted in a lot of catch and shoot threes. Credit to Golden State. They play with a ton of energy and force.  We looked sloppy, run-down, and that's how you get a result like that. So, we gotta get our energy back, be ready to go Friday."

Will Hardy Says Jazz Looked Sloppy vs. Warriors

On the second leg of a back-to-back following their previous outing against the LA Clippers, the energy wasn't there for the Jazz on both ends of the floor, that kept them playing catch-up from start to finish; a game you don't want to play against a team led by Steph Curry.

In all, it led to 23 made three-pointers for the Warriors, an assortment of miscommunications coming off of back cuts, and even when factoring in Golden State's 20 turnovers, the Jazz still would come up short by double digits.

"I mean, you can't get back-cut 75 times in the game," Hardy said of the Jazz's defense. "You can't be off the body. When we're trying to switch off the ball, you have to play with force; you have to steer and be physical, or else you're just going to be reacting over and over again to a team who, you know, that's their style."

"They move and cut and pass, and they've done it for a long time, And when they get you spinning like that, they do a great job of making decisions to the resulting catch and shoot threes," Hardy said. "It's a credit to them, but we didn't do a good job of keeping our body between them and the basket.  And we weren't physical enough to try to slow them up."

Jan 28, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) looks for the play against the Utah Jazz during the second half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Against a talented, veteran offensive-minded team like the Warriors, who boast a healthy Curry and Draymond Green, it's been a tough task for the Jazz to stop all season— now falling to 0-3 on the year when facing Golden State.

Hardy credits that success to their unique style offensively when it comes to cuts and off-ball movement; something that certainly gave the Jazz trouble in their loss.

"Their cutting actions happen with the ball in a variety of places. It's not just top of the key... They do some posts, some elbows, some top of the key, sometimes on the wing. They find different places to make the ball static, and they cut. So, it's a lot of different situations that require communication."

"And then obviously, you know, Steph Curry, the threat of Steph Curry is something that we all react to. Steph is the greatest shooter of all time.  Also a pretty outstanding cutter... he finds his way to the basket cutting for layups, and just draws so much attention that, a lot of times, he's taken two people with him."

It's back to the drawing board for the Jazz, who now get a day of rest before facing the Brooklyn Nets at home in the Delta Center in hopes of overcoming their latest losing streak.

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