Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy did not even try to play coy Monday about his team’s tank operation.
The Jazz conspicuously sat their two All-Star players, Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr., in the fourth quarter of their close game against the Miami Heat. Despite the pair of star forwards not playing down the stretch, the Jazz still won the road contest 115-111 at Kaseya Center in Miami, Fla.
During his postgame press conference, Hardy was asked about the decision to keep Markkanen and Jackson on the bench late.
Reporter: “How close were you to putting Jaren or Lauri back in the game in the fourth quarter?”
Hardy: “I wasn’t.”
Asked Jazz coach Will Hardy how close he was to putting Lauri Markkanen or Jaren Jackson Jr. in the game in the fourth quarter.
— Five Reasons Sports 🏀🏈⚾️🏒⚽️ (@5ReasonsSports) February 10, 2026
“I wasn’t.” pic.twitter.com/bZcEkCo8WA
Hardy didn’t even try to sugarcoat the decision with some lame excuse about injuries. The Jazz coach admitted that he intentionally kept out his two best players in a game they still ultimately ended up winning.
Markkanen tallied 17 points and 8 rebounds, while Jackson led the team with 22 points across their three quarters of play. The victory improved the Jazz’s record to 17-37, keeping them a full game outside of the bottom-5 teams chasing the best lottery odds.
Fans may recall that Jazz president Austin Ainge guaranteed last June that the team was done chasing ping pong balls. Monday’s result and subsequent comments from Hardy ran counterintuitive to that promise.
