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SALT LAKE CITY — As winners of six of their last seven games, the Utah Jazz are on their best run of the season.
So, too, is George Rodman.
Rodman is the Jazz's vice president of analytics and game strategy. Fans know him better as the man who decides when Jazz coach Will Hardy should — and should not — challenge a call.
And, right now, Rodman is on a heater, winning nine of the team's last 10 challenges. Those are saving points, gaining possessions, and helping add to the win total.
Take Wednesday's 154-148 overtime win over Detroit, for example. Rodman called in a challenge after Kessler was whistled for a foul at the rim contesting a Jalen Duren shot. There was some body contact, but Rodman quickly noticed Kessler got the ball first.
That challenge kept Detroit off the free-throw line and gave Utah another possession (Kessler got one of his six blocks, too).
In a game with thin margins, a successful challenge can ultimately be the deciding factor — something the Jazz know all too well (a certain Kevin Durant foul reversal comes to mind, but more on that later).
"George is annoying, but he deserves some love," joked Hardy, who first met Rodman during the Jazz coach's first year in San Antonio in 2010. "He doesn't let me yell at the refs as much as I want."
Even during this current challenge hot stretch, Hardy said Rodman would happily give up the job to ... well, anybody else. It's a mostly thankless position where perfection is almost expected.
"It's a weird job that almost can only go bad," Hardy said.
Players jockey for Rodman to challenge their foul calls, and Hardy admits he's given Rodman his fair share of grief as well. In that regard, Hardy said it's a good thing he's known Rodman for so long.
"He's a very good friend of mine, which helps because he knows I don't hate him," Hardy said.
Rodman didn't apply for his specific role on the Jazz bench; as his official position would suggest, he does a lot of the analytical work for the Jazz. But that work is mostly done between games, so when it came time for Hardy to decide who would be the challenge coordinator, his name made sense.
"George drew the short straw and he's the challenge guy," Hardy said. "I promise you that if I offered him to trade with somebody else, he would gladly give up that job."
While he might not have wanted the job, Rodman has leaned into it. He reviews every challenge from the around league to see what is — and what is not — being overturned, and he makes a point to talk to officials for rule clarifications. It's all done so he can make a split-second decision that could have a lasting impact on a game.
One area of knowledge seems to have come from a particularly tough reversal. In late November, the Jazz lost a game to the Phoenix Suns after a foul at the final buzzer was overturned. Durant had flown into Lauri Markkanen in the corner and a whistle quickly blew. Upon review, officials determined that Durant blocked the shot before any contact was made, which made the play legal.
The same logic was applied to the Kessler foul that was overturned Wednesday. When asked if the Durant play helped the Jazz challenge certain calls, Hardy was noncommittal — if anything, because it was still a painful memory.
"I don't know," Hardy said. "I mean, we talked about that play, and then we tried to not talk about that play because it was sensitive. George is the one that does all the learning. He does a great job of explaining things to me, but I really do have full trust in George."
That trust has been paying off, too.
"The refs sometimes just say, 'Hey, good challenge,' and I'll be like, 'No, no, no, It's a good challenge by him.' I just look over and get a green light — thumbs up, thumbs down," Hardy said.
