With the loss tonight against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Utah Jazz were officially eliminated from the postseason race, missing the opportunity to catch the last place in the West. However, at the beginning of the year, no one would have expected such a competitive team, capable of remaining in the top eight of the Western Conference for a very long time despite injuries and trade-offs that upset the team during a very long regular season. So many changes have enabled Simone Fontecchio to earn his minutes on the court, especially in a March closed at an average of 11.4 points and six starts in the starting lineup. The blue then took stock of his first year in the NBA: “It’s been a pretty tough season: I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, I’ve been through some tough times, but it’s okay. I also had some bad luck with Covid and a couple of injuries just when I was starting to gain confidence. But I’ve been playing continuously since February: I know I have my minutes and this helps confidence and self-esteem”. The most difficult aspect to adapt to is certainly that of commitments: “The calendar is exhausting: in the first part of the season we did well 13 back to back. Trust me, they feel. Even on a mental level it’s not easy, you have to always stay on track when things don’t go well. But in difficult moments it is good to remember to be part of the 400 strongest players in the world“.
Fontecchio: “Super group, thanks to the coach. I want to improve in rebounding”
Deadline trades have changed hierarchies, losing some reference points such as Mike Conley (“It was all very strange, practically the news reached us 40 minutes before the game against Minnesota. I had never experienced a situation like this”), but Fontecchio has nothing but words of praise for his teammates at the Jazz: “The acclimatization was easy, the teammates are really super. I bonded with everyone, but especially with Lauri Markkanen, with whom I have a European background. The credit goes to the coaching staff and to coach Will Hardy: he has created a fantastic environment, taking away so much pressure and allowing the growth of the younger players such as Walker Kesslerwho deserves to be one of the nominees for the rookie of the year award, or Broken Black who has become one of the best defenders in the league”. But the focus is still on what he can do himself: “In my rookie year I wanted to be able to prove that I could belong in this world and I think I succeededNow I have to work on consistency. I think to be also improved a lot on a defensive levelwhen you are a rookie opponents often try to attack you but I see that now they do it less and less and this means a lot to me. However, I have to improve in rebounding: I can certainly do better“. A last joke on Paolo Banchero, addressed last March: “It really didn’t seem appropriate to talk to him about the national team. I believe that coach Pozzecco and the Federation itself did everything there was to do to convince him, now it’s up to him alone. we’ll see what he decides…”.