Few teams received as much hype in the offseason as the Utah Jazz. They’re the sexy pick for the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoffs, a product of their promising play from the second half of last season. Their young players are either entering their prime – Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors – or just starting to discover it, like Rudy Gobert. Now that they finally have a coach in Quin Snyder who can properly harness all of their talent, it only makes sense to think that this is the year the Jazz take The Leap.
But for as much promise as the Jazz have, and as well as they played towards the end of the year, they still haven’t accomplished anything. That’s what Snyder wanted both the media and his team to keep in mind following the Jazz’ preseason loss to Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Quin Snyder was asked if he wants to see Rudy Gobert get it going before the season starts. This epic quote ensued: pic.twitter.com/Fxbdp9Pyv0
— Jody Genessy (@DJJazzyJody) October 21, 2015
Rarely will you see a coach give a more honest assessment of his team. Hype can be a great tool to instill confidence, but too much confidence makes a team cocky. Snyder wants his team to stay hungry, to stay grounded in reality rather than the possibilities. And he’s not the only one. Rather than shy from his coach’s criticism, Hayward doubled down on it, according to Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune.
“I think we realize we haven’t really accomplished anything,” Hayward told reporters in the locker room after the game. “Guys like you were are really hyping us up and hyped us up all offseason and we didn’t really deserve any of that. For us, we’ve got to continue to stay focused and learn from games like this.”
It’d be easy for a team to brush off a preseason loss, especially to the Thunder. Yet that’s exactly what Snyder and Hayward want the team to avoid. They can’t afford to take anything lightly, no matter if it’s a preseason game against the Thunder or a regular season game against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Jazz have a chance to take a big leap this year, which is why there’s so much hype surrounding them. The only way they’ll live up to that hype, though, is if they avoid becoming a victim of it.
