Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Any time a team can go 2-1 on a road trip, there’s something positive taking place.
Utah Jazz guard Randy Foye likes what’s taking place for his team as it came into this week. He also likes how coach Tyrone Corbin has been handling his team during crunch time, including against the Detroit Pistons in a 90-87 NBA victory to close the recent trip
“Coach just was real positive,” Foye said. “He just was saying to keep working, keep running the offense, and the biggest thing, playing defense and playing together. It was kind of reversed, how we played last night in Atlanta; came out in the second half and they jumped on us. It was kind of reversed. But our main focus was just to stay together, keep working and playing Utah Jazz basketball.”
But with Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson also both taking charge in remarkable ways, the Jazz had been pulling out victories when perhaps it seems like the loss was inevitable.
“It is what we talked about before,” Corbin said. “This team has shown a lot of resilience all year. It is a proud group and when we do not play our best basketball we want to come back the next night. Although we did not start out playing the best basketball, I thought our effort was hard. We made some mistakes but that second half, especially that third quarter, our defense went up to another level and, as a result, we were able to get our hands on some balls and make some shots after that.”
The Jazz is still trying to find its identity but Foye and Corbin are confident the team is on its way after the road trip.
“It was a huge victory for us,” Corbin said after the Pistons game. “After last night we talked about coming out and having a great road trip. We got the first one and we let the second one go but to come back tonight and get this victory being down on the road is a great indication of who we are.”
