Utah Jazz overmatched by Toronto Raptors, remain winless

Toronto, Nov 10 (IANS) Utah Jazz fell to the Toronto Raptors 91-115 in NBA action late Saturday night to remain the only basketball team without a victory in the season.

The 0-7 record to start the season is the Jazz’s worst since 1975 when the New Orleans Jazz started their inaugural season 0-11, reports Xinhua.

“This is not fun,” said Jazz head coach Tyrone Corbin. “I don’t think we showed up with the intensity that we needed to compete with these guys.”

Corbin’s squad started the season at a high competitive level with consecutive three-point losses to the Thunder and Rockets.

The five games since were all double-digit losses, with the 24-point loss to the Raptors being the largest margin of defeat.

“I thought there were times where we felt sorry for ourselves at times,” said Corbin.

Having played four games in five nights on the road, the players went through their toughest five game period of the season.

Despite the 0-7 start, the Jazz franchise entered the season low expectations. Having lost veterans Al Jefferson, Paul Milsap, Mo Williams and Randy Foye to free agency in the offseason, the franchise is in a rebuilding stage.

“We’re trying to rebuild. The last 2.5 years, we’ve come along and decided to go this route,” said Corbin.

While the expectations are low, Corbin was not happy with the energy his team showed against the Raptors.

“If we lose games fighting and competing, we can deal with that,” said Corbin. “We don’t want to come in and show up and think it’s going to happen. We go to make it happen.”

With 75 games remaining on the season, Corbin will have an opportunity to develop his core of young players; center Enes Kanter, forward Derrick Favors and guard Gordon Hayward.

Should the team continue their struggles, they will increase their likelihood of winning the NBA draft lottery; and the number one overall pick in the upcoming draft which consists of Andrew Wiggins, a prized prospect playing at the University of Kansas.