Entering his first season as a leading man in the NBA, Will Hardy knew there would be growing pains for himself and the Jazz.
He understood that there would be nights when he would want to pull his hair out and bang his head against the wall. He also knew there would be nights when he would feel like he could run through a wall, beyond elated at his career choice.
However, I don't know if Hardy knew if he would feel all of those emotions in one night — yet it happened.
Thanks to clutch plays in the end, the Jazz stunned Golden State 124-123 on Wednesday night in front of a loud and raucous home crowd.
"Whew. … Where to begin," Hardy said with a chuckle before he even sat down for his postgame press conference. "I've said it all year, we are imperfect, but we've got heart. And that was reflected at the end of the game. … They never flinch in weird moments."
Just like Hardy said, the Jazz are imperfect.
They have flaws like every other team in the league.
They've struggled to close games without Mike Conley. They've struggled to get back in transition on defense. They've had issues rebounding the ball on defense. They sometimes turn the ball over at a rate comparable to giving out candy on Halloween.
But let's not make a mistake here. There are a lot of positives to this team.
They have the complete DNA makeup of Hardy.
They're resilient and play with a ton of heart. They always play hard and compete. They can shoot the absolute lights out beyond the arc. They're efficient on offense. Most importantly, they have each other's backs — they fight for one another, literally and figuratively.
"We're just tough," Jordan Clarkson said. "We just claw it out. We're all mentally strong. We play aggressive defensively. … Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but what we're gonna do every night is fight."
That's what made Wednesday's victory over the defending champion Warriors arguably the best of Hardy's young career — and that of Team 49.
In the final two minutes, Hardy and Jazz experienced every emotion above.
There were highs and lows, big shots and turnovers, injuries and ejections. But in the end, only one thing mattered — Jazz 124, Warriors 123.
"A lot of things happened in tonight's game with guys getting injured and thrown out," Hardy said. "Obviously, a crazy end to the game. … Ended up having another late-game situation, one we are all too familiar with at this point. They continue to adapt and they do it together. … That's what's made Team 49 so fun to this point in the year."
Through 27 games, Utah is arguably the biggest and best surprise in the league. For a team that many expected to lose and be in the running for the top pick in the upcoming draft, they're currently sixth in the Western Conference at 15-12.
And that's against what many consider the most difficult schedule of anybody in the league — 19 games have come against teams with a .500 record or better. They just had three days off (before Wednesday) and still lead the West in games played, not the mention the number of road games, back-to-backs, or 3-in-4 they've played.
They've rebounded from a five-game losing streak to win three of four, with victories over LA, Indiana, and Golden State. They have veteran point guard Mike Conley — arguably the most important player on the team — ready to return, possibly as soon as Friday against Minnesota.
Regardless of the growing pains or the gauntlet of emotions that come every time the team steps onto the court, Hardy and the Jazz will continue to embrace the weirdness ahead.
"From the beginning of the year, we've embraced the fact that we may not be this pretty, neat, and tidy-on-paper team," he said. "They're finding a way to really fit together. … They feed off each other. Some nights it seems like the weirder it gets, the more comfortable it gets for us."