After starting the season 7-16, Utah’s outlook was grim.
They were coming off three consecutive losses where they were outscored by an average of 26 points per game, including a brutal 50-point defeat to Dallas. However, and without knowing it at the time, the moments of pain during that stretch would prove to be some of the more important ones of the year… only if the Jazz could learn from them.
"This is no one person's fault," Hardy said. "I told the team this is not their fault. … This is all of us, this is me, this is our staff, this is them. We need to continue to hold everyone accountable to our standards on both ends of the floor. … The number one thing for me is always going to be our competitiveness and how hard we play."
"We have to have the ability to be honest with each other and face the moments that are ugly. … The world's not ending; this is not doomsday for our team."
Heading into the game against New York on Dec. 13, the Jazz had started 12 players this year — the third most in the league behind the Grizzlies and Heat. But more than that, they just weren't playing team basketball.
They weren't executing on offense, mainly because they weren't sharing the ball. It led to many one-on-one possessions, which are absolutely killer for an offense predicated on moving the ball, cutting, and screening. The entire concept of Hardy's offense is to pass and play hard, but when the ball isn't moving, the only shots available aren't ideal.
Yet, something changed that night in Utah's 117-113 victory against the Knicks.
It wasn't just the return of All-Star Lauri Markkanen; it was more than that. Utah seemingly overnight found an identity. It was as if every word Hardy had been preaching over the past seven weeks finally clicked. The toughness and resiliency of the Jazz had surfaced.
"There's been a lot of work behind the scenes by our team to address some of the issues that we had earlier in the season," Hardy said later that night. "They're all dug in together, they're not making excuses. They're putting in a lot of work offensively and defensively, they're letting us coach them hard. … Nobody is making excuses."
Something is now brewing in Salt Lake City — and it's not the impending snowstorm.
That win over the Knicks began a sensational stretch where the Jazz have won nine of their past 12 games, culminating in Wednesday's 154-148 high-scoring overtime victory over Detroit. They've climbed out of the cellar of the Western Conference and now sit just one game back of the play-in tournament. And for those fans with even loftier goals, Utah sits 2.5 games out of 8th, 4 games out of 7th — and for the really greedy fans — just 5 games out of 6th.
"We're trying to build sustainable habits, and the biggest part of building sustainable habits is having a sustainable approach and a sustainable mindset," Hardy said. "I want the guys in our program to demand and expect more from themselves. We are all trying to do the same thing. … We want to win and we do it together, and then we lose together.”
In the first 23 games of the year, Utah averaged 26.5 assists per game. But over the past 12, that number has jumped to 29.7 (4th in the league). The Jazz have also been more efficient of late, ranking 10th in offensive and defensive rating during that stretch. Their +5.3 rating ranks eighth in the past 12 games.
"First and foremost, the ball is moving way better," Hardy said. "I think everybody is comfortable with how we are playing, how we would like to play. … There's not an anxiety about getting off the ball, everybody is just trying to make the right play and find open shots for our team."
Another major factor has been a change in Utah's mentality.
There's a newfound confidence that continues to grow every time they step onto the court, but it's not necessarily derived strictly from winning. It's coming from seeing the results after putting in the work behind the scenes. Simply put, the team has gumption.
"We just have a different presence about us. … I see a team that every day is preparing to win," Hardy said. "The way they carry themselves at practices and shootarounds, the way they prepare for these games, the way they walk onto the floor, they really do think they can win every night. They have a confidence about them as a group. … The way they interact with one another right now is way different than it was at the beginning of the year."
"I think overall it's just kind of the overall feeling around the team right now is just way different than it was a month and a half ago."
The Jazz expect to be tested the rest of January in their most challenging portion of the schedule.
Utah's next four games are against four of the top five teams in the NBA. Utah will play at Boston and Philadelphia on a back-to-back before facing Milwaukee two days later. The Jazz then return home for a six-game homestand, but will begin with the reigning-champion Nuggets. They'll close the month with a six-game road trip across the eastern seaboard.
January will bring 17 games in 30 days with four sets of back-to-backs. While that seems daunting, the Jazz are built for whatever lies ahead — largely thanks to the struggles they were experiencing a mere month ago.
"I think our team can win every night. … That's my job," Hardy said. "I want the team to know I believe in them every night. We expect the same standards from everybody that wears our jersey. … I believe in the guys in our locker room. I'm in it with them."