MAGIC: Utah Jazz and Will Hardy UNLOCK Offensive Secrets—How Lauri Markkanen, Keyonte George THRIVE
Will Hardy is at it again. Offensive magician next on Locked on Jazz. You are Locked on Jazz, your daily podcast on the Utah Jazz, part of the Locked On podcast network. your team every day. I’ll admit it. I did that first part knowing that many of you when I said Will Hardy’s at it again were like, “Yeah, I mean, oh, he’s being positive.” What a bummer. No, you didn’t. Cuz you’re awesome. Hi, I’m David Lock, radio voice, the Utah Jazz, Jazz MBA insider. This is Locked on Jazz. It’s your daily podcast on Utah Jazz. give you insight, expertise, geeky numbers, and hopefully making it way better to be a Jazz fan each and every day. Thank you so much for making Locked on Jazz your first listen of the day. Thank you for making Locked On the number one sports podcast network. We are free and available on all podcasting apps and on YouTube. Please subscribe, follow, do whatever you want to do. And to the everydayers, you’re the greatest. Thank you so much for being there each and every day. two days off in the middle of the season. Feeling much better today. Yesterday did the show in like three hours sleep. It was a little delirious. Um and so therefore a little bit different today. By the way, today’s show is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can bet $5 and if you win, you get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Head to fanduel.com to get started. Thursdays will usually be late game watch. Um we got in at 3:30 from LA. It’s just the way it works. And I went to bed at 4:00 and got up at 7. And so I was deliriously tired yesterday and went to bed and then got two late game finishes. Um so I will watch New York Dallas fth quarter and Chicago Portland fourth quarter uh today try to sneak them into tomorrow’s show. Um but otherwise we had actually when I went to bed last night we did not have had not had a close game finish since Chicago um impressively beat Denver. Chicago almost went 3 and0 on a West Coast road trip. kind of very very impressive um there. So, we’ll touch on some of those tomorrow. Instead, we’re going to look at draft class progression, which I think is kind of interesting. Um you’ll tell me, it’ll be geeky number stuff. Um I broke down the last six draft classes and how many guys from each class are playing 30 minutes a night, how many guys are playing 20 minutes a night, then how many guys are kind of borderline rotation. And it’s interesting because it there’s something funky going on in the league. And then um oh no, it’s interesting. I’ll I’ll so we’ll we’ll look at it together. Uh I think it’s I think it’s revealing. Um we’ll talk about what happens if everyone’s tanking. Nick Angstead of Lockown Mavericks did his whole show the other day and why Dallas needs to tank and Matt George of Locked on Kings did his show and why what happens if everyone else is doing this too. Um we’ll talk about that, but let’s start with the offensive magic of Will Hardy. So, this is Will’s fourth year, and this sample size is not huge, but I think if there’s a signature right now of Will Hardy as a head coach, it’s he’s a really, really good offensive coach. And I also think that the signature is that he comes out of camp usually with one style to play and then quickly adjusts into another style or figures out what is best for his team or not. Listen to this. Over the last four three and a half the sample size is not super. It’s four years and it’s half of it’s a little bit of this year and then there’s a Lowry injury there that screws things up. But in his first year as head coach in the 22 23 season are I always wonder when I do numbers for those of you on YouTube whether I should like be making a scroll at the bottom while I do it. H it’s an idea. Anyway, sorry squirrel. Um this used to have a feature where I could like put a Oh yeah, I can. Um, all right. So, year one, we’ll do this. The offensive rating was a 115.8 in the first 10 games. Okay. And no, we’re not going to do that. We’ll do it later. Uh, first 10 games. In the second 10 games, it went up to 118.5. Now, offenses generally get a little better as seasons go on. This is true. But not by that much. So, he actually went and became in the next 10 games of that year, we had the fourth best offense in the NBA. That’s Mike Connley, Lowry Markinham. That’s like a real basketball team. Um, and we were plus 2.7. So, he was 2.7 points better offensively in the second 10 games than he was in the first 10 games. The next year, we start the year 3 and seven. Our offensive rating is a 112.0. It’s not good. And it’s starting to click in. For the next five games, we’re at a 116.5. So, instead of 2.7 better, we’re 4.5. And then Lowry gets hurt and our offense tanks like plummets. We literally could not score for like a two weeks. Um it was pretty horrific. Um I think like if I remember correctly, we were under a hundred in like something like three out of four games right after that or something like that. It was we I think we beat New Orleans backto back kind of in stunning wins without Lowry and we were like, “Yeah, it’ll be all right.” and then we could not score again if I recall. Um, so anyway, in the five games after, so in the first 10 we were 112.0. In the next five, we were 116.5. So we’re already heading up 4.5. And then Lowry gets hurt. So you can decide whether that’s a big enough sample size to determine. Um, in the 24-25 season, we opened the year terribly offensively. Um, 106.2. I think we’re like 29th in the league offensively and he makes some adjustments and we get seven points better in the next 10 games. So in year one of Will Hardy in game in games 11 through 20 we’re 2.7 better in games 11 through 15 right because we only have that five game sample size we’re 4.5 points better per 100 possessions and in the 24-25 season under Will Hardy were seven points better per 100 possessions so a little bit like of a threeame sample size you can have a little bit of a signature is that Will Hardy makes some offensive adjustments and we get way better offensively in the second 10 games of the season. So, we started this year with a 110.3 offensive rating through 10 games. We ranked 26th in the NBA. Now, we have not played a huge amount of games yet. Let’s not like overplay this, but are we seeing the exact same thing out of Will Hardy? To me, it kind of feels like we are because now all of a sudden since we came back from the Minnesota road trip and came back from Minnesota on that road trip and so and played Minnesota, Indiana, Atlanta, Chicago, and the Lakers in our last five games, we are suddenly on fire offensively with a 124 offensive rating and the offense is up 14.6 six points and we’re the sixth best offensive team in the NBA over our last five games. Now, we do have a defensive juggernaut waiting for us on Friday that will probably skew this number. So, this was the right time to do this show. Let’s be perfectly clear. Um, but let’s see what else would happen. We play the Lakers and then Golden State and then Sacramento and then a defensive juggernaut in Houston. So, two your 10 games. It’s a pretty good 10ame sample size. We’ll see whether this holds. But right now, over the last five games, all of a sudden, the Jazz have the sixth best offense in the NBA. And the same thing is happening that’s happened in every other season that Will Hardy’s been the head coach of this team. So, the sample size is a little wonky. I’m not like I don’t like I’m not going to go die at a vine on this one with a five game Lowry mark in year two but plus 2.7 year 1 plus 4.5 year two plus 7 in year three right now plus 14.6 six, which will come down dramatically after Friday. But like Oklahoma City’s defense is stupid right now. In this last five games, by the way, Oklahoma City’s defense is allowing 97.2 points per 100 possessions. And the ne in the last six games and the next closest in the NBA is Minnesota at 108.2. Oklahoma City has broken the code. They are allowing 11 points per 100 possessions bet less than the next team in the NBA over the last six games than the next team. The league average over the last like two weeks or week is 116 point 116 and they’re allowing 97. They’re almost allowing 20 points per 100 possessions less. We might not score all night. Okay, it’s not that severe but it feels like it. It’s crazy. But I do think the takeaway here is Will Hardy finds a way. And what we’ve seen, we talked about a little bit yesterday, more Kee Lowry, two-man action, finding ways to get Lowry the ball in a different manner, getting away from some of the isolations. We’ve pushed since Isaiah’s come back, we’ve pushed the tempo and are getting into actions quicker, getting more transition opportun opportunities. So, really interesting to see will work this magic offensively each and every year. and we’ll see how this one lasts. We got five games, two of them against mammothly good defensive teams. Um so it’ll be interesting to see um you know what happens, but we’ve played, you know, we’ve played Detroit who’s really really good defensively. Played Minnesota is really really good defensively and we’ll see how this and Minnesota is on each side of this equation. Um so we’ll see how this plays. All right, that is part one of the show. Uh so I’m not like into the tank. I’m actually loving the fact we’re playing basketball tour. There is however no question we cannot afford to lose our draft pick and all of a sudden there’s a line out the door at the tank store. We’re talking about it next on Locked on Jazz. Thursday edition of Locked on Jazz is brought to you by Quo. Quo used to be open phone and now it is quo as in like status quo and they’ve changed their name. It’s still the same great product along the way. So let’s talk about something that every business owner knows well and that is missed calls are bad. When a customer tries to reach you to get through the money slipping away, Quo Qo is the smarter way to run your business communication so you never miss an opportunity. Quo’s number one business phone system built for 2025, not 1995. It’s simple, modern, and designed to help commuter uh communicate faster and look more professional. Stay connected wherever you are working. So, Quo works right from the app on your phone or your computer. No extra device, no clunky landlines. Your whole team can share one number, collaborate on calls, texts like a shared inbox, which means customers get help faster. Built-in AI is a game changer. Logs your calls, writes summaries, even sets up follow-ups automatically. It’s why 90,000 90,000 are already using Quo. Quo for free. Yes, try Quo for free at quo.qo.com/locktona. That’s qo.comonmbba. And yes, you can keep your existing numbers. Quo, no missed calls, no missed customers. We all want to perform at our best. Certain things in life are more important than others when it comes to performance. So that is where Roué Rouette comes in for you and making sure that you get your best per performance. No more excuses. Stressed, tired. When it comes to performance, sometimes your body needs a little extra support, a little performance enhancement. And that’s where Rouette comes in. Rouette is fast acting, doctor prescribed treatments for ED, designed to help you stop making excuses and start making moves. Rette makes it easy to get started. You just connect with a board-certified doctor, 100% online, no awkward waiting rooms, no in-person appointments. If prescribed, your treatment ships directly straight to your door. The process is fast, simple, and private. And it’s all handled by real doctors. It’s also gives you confidence that you are getting the right stuff. rouette rug gi.comlockton NBA to get 15% off your first order. That’s rouette rug.comlock NBA. And don’t forget to use the code locked inmbba so they know you sent you. Get a little better. Never hurt. Rouette, stop making excuses. Start making moves. Nicks. Oh, thank you for making Lockdown Jazz your first listen of the day and thank you for making Lockdown the number one sports podcast network. Nick Hangstead of Lockdown Mavericks did his show the other day and his show said that the Mavericks should tank and he might be right. They lost again last night. The Mavericks are now sitting with a record of 4 and 12. Regardless whether Kyrie’s coming back, I don’t know what route they have. They own their draft pick this year. They have Cooper flag. They have to figure out what they’re doing with Anthony Davis. I think he might be right. Um because frankly they’re probably not making much of a run to the playin. Or maybe they are, but the roster is not very good, right? I mean that’s just the bottom line. And in 2027, their draft pick goes to Charlotte. And in 2028, they will swap with OKC. And in 2029, their draft pick goes to Houston. The Lakers goes to them. And in 2031, they get the least favorable of Dallas and San Antonio. So, if you’re the Dallas Mavericks, as Nick Angstead outlined on Locked on Mavericks, you should probably pull the plug on this thing. All right. Well, we know the Washington Wizards are. They’re 1 and13. We know the Pacers are at this point going to they’re two-3. We know the Brooklyn Nets are. They started that way. They’re 2-2. We get to the we add the Dallas Mavericks to the list. They’re 4-2. Now, the New Orleans Pelicans are interesting because they’re two and 13 and they just changed their head coach. James B is their head coach and Zion just came back and they mysteriously traded their draft pick to the Atlanta Hawks at the in the draft so they could get Derek Queen who did have 30 last night against Denver. So maybe he’s going to turn out to be as good as they thought. Let’s hope for their sake. But they just trade. So New Orleans actually h will start winning at some point because they frankly doesn’t do them any good to lose. The Sacramento Kings on the other hand have a disaster on their hands. The Sacramento Kings are sitting here at 3 and 12. They have Sabonis, they have D Rozan, they have Jack Lavine, and they can’t win a game. And they have Malik Monk, and they are an absolute mess. And they at least control their draft capital, except for a weird one with Sacramento with Oklahoma City, but I think it’s only if it’s 17 through 30 next year. So if they unload this thing, they at least control all of their own draft assets until 31 in some weird ass swap that goes on. And so Sacramento, it makes a lot of sense for Sacramento to join the tank train. So now all of a sudden we have Sacramento, we have Dallas, the Pelicans I think start to win and now we have two other teams that get and I haven’t we haven’t even touched on Charlotte yet who’s 4 and 11 but I think we’ll see just playing their young guys but we’ll see what happens with them. Then we get to two teams that are really interesting. And what’s interesting on both of these teams is they should be a ton better. And I’m not entirely sure how they get better. So let’s start with the Los Angeles Clippers who are just not very good. And you I watched them late game the other night. when you don’t have Bradley Beal and you don’t have the Kawhi Leonard and it’s James Harden and a bunch of guys that aren’t very good, you’re not going to get better other than Zubac. But guess what? They don’t own their 2026 draft pick. It’s going to Oklahoma City. There’s a weird thing with the Houston 5 through30 in Oklahoma and the least f then one of them the the two most favorable of Los Angeles Houston and Oklahoma City go to Oklahoma City and after that something goes to Washington. It’s a really convoluted thing but the bottom line is the Clippers are not getting their pick. Oklahoma City is going to get their pick. And so the Clippers are abstaining from joining the tank train and will probably make a run for the 10th playoff spot in the Western Conference here despite not being good. And then we have the Memphis Grizzlies. And Memphis thought they were making a run for it this year. They made the Desmond Bane move. They have John. They have Jiren Jackson Jr. They went and signed Contavius Cwell Pope. They thought they had this whole thing figured out with Zack Edy. They’re not good. And there’s a really complicated draft deal with two middle picks of Memphis, Orlando, Phoenix, and Washington, one through nine via Memphis. Swap for Phoenix. And I don’t understand it to be totally honest. I don’t understand it. But, um, it’s a question of what the Grizzlies do next because I think if I’ve read it correctly, and I might not be sure, um, I think if Memphis is the least good of all those teams, they get their own pick. They will like the way I think it reads, they will likely have two first round picks in 2026, their own pick plus the better of the Phoenix Washington via Orlando, which means I don’t quite get how they get the what those protections on the Washington are, but it gets super advantageous for Memphis to take I think it’s super complicated. I’ve got to get someone to totally explain it to me. I believe they have their own 2026 pick and they have the swap rights with Phoenix and Washington, but the Desmond Bane deal plays into it in some way and it’s not entirely clear, but I believe they can swap their pick for the less favorable of Phoenix and Washington, but their pick will be better than that. So then they get there and then somehow they may get a second out. It’s super complicated. Bottom line, Memphis could join the train also very reasonably. There’s if we count Charlotte, there’s seven teams on the take train. We’ve got to stay top eight. It’s worth watching and it’s not great and I hope it doesn’t force our hand into something weird, but it’s a part of the storyline of the story. And this is assuming that the two and 13 New Orleans Pelicans put this thing together. This is assuming that the 4-10 Los Angeles Clippers put something together. But we as the Jazz franchise need either the Dallas Mavericks, the Memphis Grizzlies, or the Sacramento Kings to go on a hot streak and start winning some games and think they’re playing for the playin. Portland’s lost five in a row. They’re at least still at nine in the playin at six and 10 and probably going to stay competing for it. And we wouldn’t mind Charlotte going on some sort of hot streak and thinking they’re competing because at some point they could pull the plug and then Charlotte’s in our mix of seven and we’ve got to stay top eight. And if you are suddenly sitting at seven or eight in the lottery and two people bump you Ah, I was looking at no ceilings mock draft the other day at our locked on NBA draft and they had the Oklahoma City Thunder taking our pick. I mean, there’s the other side of this that we’re really going to be banking on the lottery in the opposite way as we did a year ago, which is a year ago we thought we were in perfect position to end up get top three and then we got five and this draft does seem to be three really superstarish players at the top. I don’t have a solution to this because I love what we’re doing right now and I like how we’re playing and I like the energy and I like all the things we’re doing. I will say we have not played very many hard teams yet and we’re about to play a gauntlet. So, it may be much to do about nothing. I it it might be. But if you go to basketball reference right now, playoff probabilities, and venture out the season, they have us at 32 wins. I actually think the number is like 18. So, I don’t know how they’re getting 32, but they do. Memphis is at 30, Sacramento’s at 29, Dallas is at 26, and the Pelicans are at 22. And the Brooklyn Nets are at 23, and Indiana’s at 20. And Washington’s at 18. And that leaves us in eighth with one ping-pong ball going above us and we lose our pick. I don’t think this is accurate, but it’s real. Interesting little draft progression, geeky numbers for you next that you decide if it’s interesting. Unlocked on Jazz. Today’s show is brought to you in part by skims. All right. So, we are really fortunate and skim sends us product and I’ve really liked my SKIMS that I’ve gotten. The first few I would say were really good. They’re they were very good. I used them for travel because they didn’t move and I used them for workouts because they were pretty tight. The last set I just got are the cotton boxer briefs and they’re great. Like without being weird about underwear, but underwear matters. They’re really great. Really really great. The material I don’t know if they’ve made a total fundamental change of what they’re doing, but they’re they’re the cotton ones are really great. Um, and that’s I mean, what else to tell you? Like, do you don’t want more? Just trust me. You don’t want me little you want like details like no, they’re just super comfortable. So, and their whole thing, no slipping, no sagging, no adjusting. It’s actually totally true. That’s why I wear them when I travel. Great underwear. I I they the the the ad read says they make you feel confident and comfortable. You decide whether they make you feel confident. I can back up that they make you feel comfortable. So I have gone to I think it’s the 5 in boxer brief. Super great. Super fabric, great fit, supportive, comfortable all day. Don’t ride up. I I’m there. Like I don’t need to tell you more. You can decide. But I’m telling you they’re great. Uh Skims Men now Ski. When you place your order, choose podcast in the post-purchase survey. Select our show from the drop down. Let them know we sent you. I’d greatly appreciate that. The holiday shows score is also open. So, if you’re looking for the perfect gifts this season, Skiims has you covered. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. I’m pretty certain you’re going to think they’re great. Today’s show is also brought to you by FanDuel. The NBA is back. No better place than FanDuel to get in on the official sports book betting and the four official sports betting partner of the NBA. If you miss the start of a game, want to ride the hot hand, FanDuel has live bets on everything who will score next to the fourth quarter comebacks. Plus, you can even combine your live bets into a same game parlay for a shot at a bigger payout. It keeps everything exciting. And right now, new customers get $300 in bonus bets if they win their first bet. FanDuel.com NFL Thursday Night Football tonight I believe is the Bills and the Texans. The Bills are a five and a half point favorite in that one. Uh tonight NBA Orlando’s five and a half point favorite against the Clippers. Memphis and Sacramento. Maybe this Spurs one of them on to winning. Memphis is a two and a half point favorite in that one. Uh Portland and Golden State will play Friday. That one’s headlined. Our game is not. I don’t see our game. Here’s the finals odds. Kind of crazy. Oklahoma City is plus 175. Denver’s plus 650. Cleveland’s plus 950. Rockets are plus,00 and the Knicks are plus,300. So Cleveland, the odds on favorite right now to win the East at plus 250 and the Knicks at plus 370. The NBA, the West is just Oklahoma City’s just running away with it over on FanDuel on the betting odds at fanuel.com. Thank you so much for making Lockdown Jazz your first listen. If you’re coming to the game on Friday, you can listen in the arena lag free now. Stop by our booth at section 7 and we’ll set you up with that. It’s brand new. We have it set up for you kind of new this year so you can listen to the broadcast in the arena lagree. Uh so please do so on that. Um all right. I don’t know. We’ll see if this is interesting to you. I broke down the last six draft classes by how many players in the class are playing 30 minutes and how many are playing 20 minutes and then how many are kind of on the fringe playing probably 15. So they’re kind of in the rotation. We’ll see what which way they go. There’s a few things interesting to me on this. the amount of guys that are kind of in the mix to play and make it on each of these graph classes feels like they’re about the same. So the 20 class of the three categories has 24. The 21 class has a few more. They have 28. The 22 class has 26. 23 has 26. 24 has 27. And this year’s class has 25. So like out of a draft class, the 20 class is the worst of them at 22, but they all seem to like and that could be because of COVID and development, right? Those players all came in during COVID. Um that seems it the second one that’s interesting is though you’re not playing they are not playing 30 minutes consistently until their third or fourth year in the NBA. like the guy there are a lot of guys that So here’s or we have some bad draft classes coming like I’d have to look at this over years but the 2020 class has 10 guys playing 30 minutes. The 2021 draft has 11 and then it starts to drop. The 2022 class has seven that would include Walker if he was playing. The 2023 class has five that counts Kee. So Keiant is one of five guys in that 2023 class that’s playing 30 minutes a night. the 2024 classes, which is notoriously supposedly notoriously bad, has only two guys playing 30 minutes a night. And the 2025 class, which is the one that just came out, and super young, only has three guys. You wouldn’t expect many more. Um, the other thing is it’s clear that until the fourth year in the league, guys might not be ready to play over 20 minutes a night. So, in the 2020 class, there’s currently 21 guys playing at least 20 minutes a night. So, the 10 that are playing 30, another 11. In the 2021 class, there’s 22. And in the 22 22 class, there’s 21. So, that’s really interesting. In that those classes, three and three, four, and five years out, there’s 21 or 22 guys that are playing 20 minutes or more, really having an impact. And what’s funny about that is if you hear us talk about the draft, what we always talk about is that seven of the top 10 players in the NBA become rotation players drafted. Sometimes eight, half of the players from 11 to 30, so 10 become NBA rotation players and then like a few outliers that gets you to about 20, 21, 22. Like if you have eight and 10, eight of the top 10 make become rotation players. And then you have half of the picks after 10. So that’s 10. That’s 18. And then two or three second round picks and two or three free agents and you have 21 or 22. It’s ex I mean it’s kind of crazy. The 23 class only has 15 right now, but they have nine players that are playing between 15 and 20. It’s interesting to see of those nine players, which of them vault into a bigger group. The 2024 class, which is notoriously bad, has only two players playing 30, but they have 16 players right now playing 20 minutes a night. We’ll see how many of them last. They also have nine playing 15 to 20. Some of this might be that they’re draft picks. you have to play them. But that actually has them at a very high number. But it’ll be curious to see which whether they break through. But they only have 18 in this year’s class of rookies have only 13 kids playing 20 or more minutes a night. 12 of them then playing between kind of getting their feet wet between 15 and 20, but probably not making a huge impact. So it’s really interesting. It does show there one that almost every draft class has the same amount of guys. two, that player development really kind of clicks in in year three or four of who you are. As much as like, you know, like we’re going to determine what we think of Cody Williams, Isaiah Collier, Taylor Hendricks, Kyle Filipki right now, and we’re seeing it with Walker in year three, we’re seeing it with Kee in year three that these guys develop and and then we’re seeing here the whole wide league trend is that and it is interesting to me. We’ll see. Does the the 2022 class So the 21 and 20 class have 10 guys playing 30 minutes a night. The 22 class has seven right now, but they have 14 guys playing 20. Will four of those guys vault up in year between year developing in between year four and year five up to 30 minute night players next year? And then that’s the number is that you always have 10 to 12 players playing that. I can stretch this out and we can look at it more. But I thought it was an interesting look at just kind of what a draft class is and how they progress and what they look at and what happens. And it’ll be in I have a hard time figuring out how the 24 class is going to end up with 11. And I have a hard time actually looking at the 23 class which is Keiantes and finding I was trying to look and see if I could find five more guys that I thought would go to 30 minutes a night and I maybe Assur Thompson and Anthony Black make the jump if Anthony Black’s shooting can get better. He’s still only at 29% from three. Um I don’t know. Like I don’t It’s funny. I’m looking at this draft that draft class right now. Four, five guys that are playing 30 minutes tonight are Aman Thompson, Victor Webbyama, Tamari, Tammani Kamara, who is a second round draft pick, Keonte, and Jaime Hakez. And then the next minutes, guys, are Jarice Walker, who’s playing a lot because um Indiana’s bad, but he’s not playing well. His effective field goal percentage is 38%. He’s shooting 31% and 29% from three. Kase Wallace, Brendan Pajki, Asur Thompson, Anthony Black, and Bal Kulabali are kind of the next group. And I I don’t know if I see that. Um so interesting to see like I don’t know where five more guys in the 20 to get to 10 in the 2023 class. The guys playing 30 minutes in the 2022 class are Dyson Daniels, Benedict Mather, Jabari Smith, Paula Bunk, Carol, Ryan Rollins, huge surprise, Walker. I did have Walker already in here and S and Max Christie. Christie is surprised. Chad Homegrren is at 29.9. He’ll get over it. Christian Brown’s at 29.5. Andrew Nebard’s at 29.3. So they’re really close. They just didn’t happen to hit 30. I mean, that was just kind of bad luck. And Jaylen Duran’s in that group. And Shaden Sharp, who’s about to become a star, is in that group. So that group, there’s no question the 2022 class, is going to be a 10 or 11 guys playing 30 minutes a night, which seems to be the number. All right, that is locked on jazz today. Tomorrow, Ask LJ edition. Send me your questions on Twitter or email me at dlock09 and we’ll have them for you tomorrow. Ask LJ and the thunder in town. Ah, it’s next on Friday’s edition of Locked on Jazz. Thanks for tuning in. We now say the first ever 247 National NBA channel, Locked on NBA on YouTube. Check out game night on locked on NBA’s feed every game, every
Utah Jazz fans, is Will Hardy the NBA’s next offensive genius? Utah’s offense is catching fire as Head Coach Will Hardy once again engineers a mid-season turnaround, driving the Jazz from bottom-tier to a top-six offensive rating over the last five games. David Locke spotlights the strategic adjustments—more dynamic Keyonte George–Lauri Markkanen actions, faster tempo, and renewed transition attacks—that are fueling the Jazz’s latest scoring surge.
The episode also tackles the Western Conference tank race, why protecting the Jazz’s draft pick is crucial, and how rival teams like the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings might influence Utah’s playoff odds. David Locke breaks down NBA draft class progression, revealing why waiting for player development pays off and examining how current rookies compare to past classes. Can Will Hardy’s adaptability and Utah’s young core keep them ahead in this fight? Get all the insights and stats-driven analysis on Locked On Jazz.
0:00: Will Hardy Offensive Magic
14:09: The NBA Tank race is heating up
27:41 – Draft Class Progress & Trends
Locked On Jazz Podcast 💻 https://www.lockedonjazz.net
Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOJazz?sid=YouTube
Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNBA
Follow David Locke on Twitter:
📲 https://twitter.com/DLocke09
#NBA #UtahJazz #WillHardy #DannyAinge #jordanclarkson #laurimarkkanen
Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!
DoorDash
Next time someone goes off for 50, use promo code NBA50 the next day to get 50% off on DoorDash with DashPass — plus your shot at the Bag Drop.
DashPass members only. 50% off up to $10 the day after a 50-point game with promo code. Terms apply.
No Purchase Necessary. Ends April 13th. Open to U.S. residents 21 or older. Visit https://DoorDashInYourBag.com for full details.
DoorDash — In your bag all season long.
Quo
See why over 90,000 businesses trust Quo, formerly OpenPhone. Get started free and get 20% off your first 6 months at https://www.Quo.com/LOCKEDONNBA.
Rippling
Get Rippling FREE for 6 months. Terms and conditions apply. See site for details: https://app.rippling.com/legal/promoterms
PrizePicks
Download the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.
Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNBA
SKIMS
Shop SKIMS Men’s now at https://SKIMS.com.
When you place your order, choose “podcast” in the post-purchase survey and select our show from the dropdown to let them know we sent you.
The SKIMS Holiday Shop is open — so if you’re looking for the perfect gift this season, SKIMS has you covered.
Rugiet
Visit https://rugiet.com/lockedonnba to get 15% off your first order.
And don’t forget to use our code LOCKEDONNBA so they know we sent you.
Rugiet — stop making excuses and start making moves.
Robinhood
You expect more from yourself. Expect more from your money. Get started today at robinhood.com/yourmoney. Your money. Your move.
All investments involve risk, including loss of principal. Options, futures, and crypto trading carry significant risk and may not suit all investors. Securities offered through Robinhood Financial LLC, member SIPC. Futures trading is offered by Robinhood Derivatives, LLC and not SPIC or FDIC protected. Crypto offered through Robinhood Crypto, LLC (NMLS ID 1702840), not FDIC or SIPC protected. Portfolio management offered by Robinhood Strategies, an SEC-registered advisor.
Gametime
Today’s episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply.
FanDuel
Right now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app. Download the FanDuel app now by visiting https://FanDuel.com to get started
FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)
2 comments
Will is a genius I love will will best coach in the nba I don’t care if his record is 63-287 you aren’t what your record says you are oh don’t do me like that you dirty rotten filthy nasty little boy
I think I am the only person in the world who doesn't care about that pick. I think trying to save the pick is a sunk cost fallacy. We would have a complete roster if we hadn't been chasing the bottom of the standings, we have traded more rotation pieces than we have drafted.
If everyone is playing the tank game, the FO needs to get creative and take advantage of the market or find some other exploitation.