HOUSTON — During a timeout late in the second quarter of the Utah Jazz’s 143-105 loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night, there was a heated exchange between rookie Kyle Filipowski and Collin Sexton.
Filipowski was frustrated, Sexton was trying to explain the situation and fellow rookie Isaiah Collier stepped in to try to help mediate. Ultimately, the players found solid ground in their conversation and dapped each other up before going back out on the court.
“This is basketball, there’s tensions the whole game just in general,” Filipowski said. “Being able to talk to one another about it and work through is really important. In one perspective, it’s from guard to big, but also just him being a vet and me being a rookie ... we can get our frustration out, work through it, and I think it’s just really good for our growth and connection on the court.”
Filipowski’s next bucket came off a Sexton assist.
If you’re looking for a great example of how players should be using their frustrations in a positive way, that was it. The Jazz were already losing by 20, and they certainly weren’t going to beat the No. 2 team in the Western Conference. But, when used correctly, frustration can show that you care and that you’re passionate and that you want the best.
During that same timeout, second-year guard Keyonte George was not in the huddle. He sat at the end of the bench hunched over, not really paying attention to what was going on between Filipowski and Sexton. Then when head coach Will Hardy joined the huddle, George slowly walked around the corner of the court with a towel over his head.
Even John Collins and Taylor Hendricks, wearing street clothes, were engaged in what was happening with the rest of the team and listening in to what Hardy had to say. And this isn’t the first time that George has seemed disconnected or frustrated in a negative way.
For a lot of this roadtrip, and at times throughout the last two years, George has seemed indignant, and it is painfully clear when he is upset. There’s a lot of finger pointing, a lot of eye rolling and even more sulking.
Are there valid reasons for George to be frustrated and mad? Probably. He was pulled from the game in the first half, playing far below his normal minute allotment. But there are just as many reasons for his teammates to be frustrated, and George’s body language stands out.
This has been a long and grueling season, full of losses and hard-to-stomach games, and that includes Wednesday night’s loss. Being regularly beaten by nearly every team in the league has to be difficult. The Jazz have only won a single game since the end of February and haven’t won a game on the road since the first week of January.
But frustration for professional athletes needs to be channeled toward something other than sulking or pouting or seething. Hardy often talks about the importance of body language. He’s even dedicated practice and film sessions to addressing it.
“I am a believer that what you do is important, but how you do it is also important,” Hardy said. “You ultimately will get judged the most when things don’t go well for you. And especially when you’re in the NBA or in pro sports, people in general are looking for opportunities to pick at you, and they are waiting for you to act spoiled, or lazy, or weak.”
It is certainly possible for George to find new ways to deal with his frustration. Walker Kessler has been guilty of the same behavior at times, but much less so this season, and he has been open to admitting that it’s an area where he needs to improve and sees that it has a negative impact on himself and the rest of the team.
On the bench it’s one thing. But the carry over from the bench to the court is something different altogether. And in both instances, that kind of body language and behavior can bring other people down, it can create animosity, and it becomes representative of who you are.
“There’s little things that you can do to continue to carry yourself in a way where you you maintain self respect first, and then you maintain the respect of everybody else around you,” Hardy said. “In your toughest moment, you don’t run and hide, you don’t put your head down, you don’t shake your head, you don’t point the finger, you don’t make excuses. You maintain some accountability, and you keep moving forward.”
If George wants to find real footing on this team, if he wants to be respected in this league, he’s going to have to find a way to channel his frustration in a different way. Because sitting at the end of the bench and looking like he could care less what the rest of his team is talking about is not the way to do it.