The Jazz calling a timeout to wipe away their own potential game-winner is incredible tanking

Below regular circumstances, the Utah Jazz (4-16 general) dropping a sport wouldn’t be headline information. However it was the approach they misplaced towards the Lakers on Saturday evening to safe that sixteenth defeat that was significantly notable.

Trailing 105-104 with simply seconds remaining after LeBron James clanked his ninth missed three-pointer of the evening, Jazz head coach Will Hardy sprinted to midcourt to name a timeout and arrange a play for a possible game-winner.

The one downside? His timeout really prevented what would have been a go-ahead basket (and potential game-winner) from Collin Sexton that will have left the Lakers with simply 2 seconds left to attain their very own basket. At the same time as somebody who carefully lined the tanking Lakers of the mid-2010s, I’m undecided I’ve ever seen this earlier than:

The Lakers secured the win by stopping Utah from even getting a shot off after no matter play Hardy drew up within the timeout… which totally cements this as one of many worst timeouts of the NBA season. Or finest, when you’re a Jazz fan like our group at SLC Dunk that’s rooting for losses because the staff seems to be to safe pole place in the Cooper Flagg derby. The one one that will surpass it on the finish of the 12 months is Warmth coach Erik Spoelstra calling a timeout he didn’t have a couple of weeks in the past, however even that one didn’t wipe away a possible game-winner.

That is additionally a humorous about-face for Hardy, who simply flamed his entire staff two weeks in the past for a scarcity of situational consciousness after Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht lit them up for a career-high 37. Now, it’s Hardy’s personal absence of really feel that value them one other tight sport, and provided that coaches nearly by no means purchase into any intentional tank job, it’s protected to say this a) was most likely an accident and b) goes to depart Hardy not getting a complete lot of sleep tonight. But when it finally ends up securing the Jazz a high draft choose within the loaded 2025 class, it additionally could go down as a legendary area of interest second in franchise lore.