Why Will Hardy held Keyonte George to 5 fouls against the Grizzlies
In Friday night’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Keyonte George was on fire. He scored 39 points on 12-20 shooting from the field while making mincemeat of a Grizzlies defense that was trying to slow down development Utah Jazz guard.
But the Jazz found themselves in a pickle in the fourth. George was whistled for his fifth foul of the night at 7:10 of the fourth quarter. Still, the head coach Will Hardy decided for Đorđe to stay out of the field and it paid offas he didn’t commit his sixth foul and even scored 12 points in the fourth to fend off a potential Grizzlies comeback.
“Playing with five fouls and they’re trying to get him into everything defensively, you’re in a tough spot. We had to adjust the coverage to try to protect him a little bit,” Hardy said, via JP Chung of Jazz.com . “When you have five (fouls), people are going to try to step in and take charge. So I think he showed a lot of maturity in terms of staying out of some tough spots where the whistle can go against you.”
Will Hardy says Keyonte George is playing with 5 fouls pic.tvitter.com/POpSaNlsva
— JP chungah (@Jp_chunga) December 13, 2025
Keyonte George made the jump for the Jazz
George became the Jazz’s longtime point guard after his status as the team’s starting point guard seemed to be in question. He’s averaging 22.9 points per game for Utah, looking like the kind of point guard every team needs today — someone who can score from the perimeter and make his teammates better.
The The Jazz may be in the midst of a rebuildbut they were hell-bent on building winning habits under Hardy. Hardy is one of the brightest coaches in the league and has been instrumental in the development of the team’s key players — including George, who has blossomed into a quality young point guard in the third year of his career.
2025-12-13 12:00:00
