All-Star center Rudy Gobert issued a harsh reality check to his Utah Jazz teammates after his team's 131-122 loss to the Washington Wizards on Thursday.
"We need to understand that we haven't accomplished shit," Gobert said, according to The Salt Lake Tribune's Eric Walden. "We get upset when people laugh at us on TV and disrespect us. It's on us to respect ourselves."
After getting out to a blistering 24-5 start - including a stretch of 20 wins in 21 games - the Jazz have cooled off lately with four losses over their last six contests.
While Utah still sits atop the Western Conference at 29-11, Gobert realizes his club can't afford to take its foot off the gas in preparation for what he hopes will be a long playoff run.
"We're not the champions. We're not a team that can just cruise and turn it on come playoff time. We have to stay hungry," the Frenchman added.
The Jazz have made four straight playoff appearances but have only managed to advance as far as the Western Conference semifinals during that time. They've been eliminated in the first round in back-to-back campaigns.
