“YOU ARE THE WORSE COACH I EVER MET” Star player disparaging Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy
On Thursday, the Utah Jazz (26-26, 4th Northwest) will travel to the southwest desert to play the Phoenix Suns (30-21, T-2nd Pacific) in the Western Conference. Utah won their second straight game on Tuesday night, defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder 124-117. Utah has the final postseason qualifying berth in the Western Conference, where it is ranked 10th. On Tuesday night, Phoenix defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 114-106. The Suns have triumphed in the previous four games and two in a row. Five games behind three co-leaders, Phoenix ranks sixth in the Western Conference. Ochai Agbaji of Utah is dubious. Damion Lee will not be playing for Phoenix.
With an average of 117.9 points per game, Utah ranks 11th in the NBA in terms of scoring. Meanwhile, the Jazz are shooting 47.2% from the field overall, which is 18th, and 35.8% from three-point range, which is 21st. With an 82.4 free throw shooting percentage, Utah is in third place. With 23.8 points per game on average, Utah’s top scorer is Laurie Markkanen. With 17.4 points per game, Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson are tied for second place in scoring. Clarkson leads the team in assists with 4.9 per game on average.
With 119.7 points allowed per game, Utah’s defense is ranked 23rd. The Jazz are letting opponents shoot 20th-ranked 47.9% overall and 27th-ranked 38.4% from 3-point range. Utah averages 46.6 rebounds per game, consisting of 12.7 offensive and 33.9 defensive rebounds. With an average of 8.6 rebounds per game, Markkanen leads Utah in rebounding. Talen Horton-Tucker leads the team in steals with an average of 1.0 per game, while Walker Kessler is the best rim protector with an average of 2.7 blocked shots per game.
