Why Jazz’s Will Hardy kept Keyonte George in vs. Grizzlies with 5 fouls

In a contest against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night, Keyonte George was on fire. He scored 39 points on 12-20 shooting from the field as he made mincemeat of a Grizzlies defense that was scrambling for ways to slow down the nascent Utah Jazz guard.

But the Jazz found themselves in a pickle in the fourth. George, at the 7:10 mark of the fourth quarter, was whistled for his fifth foul of the night. Nonetheless, head coach Will Hardy decided to keep George out on the court and it paid off, as he didn’t pick up his sixth foul and even scored 12 points in the fourth to ward off a potential comeback from the Grizzlies.

“Playing with five fouls, and they’re trying to put him in everything defensively, you’re in a hard spot. We had to adjust the coverage to try and protect him a little bit,” Hardy said, via JP Chunga of Jazz.com. “When you have five [fouls], people are going to try and step in and take charges. So I think he showed a lot of maturity in terms of keeping himself out of some tough spots where the whistle can go against you.”

Will Hardy talks Keyonte George playing with 5 fouls pic.twitter.com/POpSaNlswa

— JP Chunga (@JP_Chunga) December 13, 2025

Keyonte George has made the leap for the Jazz

George has become a long-term keeper for the Jazz after it had looked as though his standing as a starting point guard for his team was going to be in question. He’s averaging 22.9 points per game for Utah, looking like the kind of point guard every team needs nowadays — someone who can score from the perimeter and make his teammates better.

The Jazz may be in the middle of a rebuild, but they have been hell-bent on building winning habits under Hardy. Hardy is one of the brightest coaches in the association, and he’s been crucial to the development of the team’s key players — including that of George, who has blossomed into a quality young point guard in Year 3 of his career.

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