Absent since January 5th due to COVID protocol, Rudy Gobert is on the way back. That’s good because Jazz without Rudy isn’t the same story at all. Come on, open days are over now!
This is Tim MacMahon fromESPN who swung the news this Friday evening on Twitter. Our national Rudy Gobert has therefore just left the NBA health protocol after ten days of absence. Does that mean he’ll be back on the pitch right away? Obviously, according to additional information from Eric Walden of the Salt Lake City Tribune, the answer is yes since Rudy is back in training and should be in gear on Sunday night to face Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets. We had an easier time as a recovery match, but that’s exactly the kind of news that should make Jazz fans smile. Jazz fans who are bound to be a bit sulky at the moment given the recent results of their team: four losses in five games without Rudy, four losses in a row, and a place on the podium that flew away as quickly as a coast-to-coast by Ja Morant. With the Grizzlies’ very big current streak (11 straight wins), the Mormons have seen Memphis pass them by, the two teams currently separated by two wins (record of 30 successes – 14 losses for the band in Ja, 28-14 for Utah). Result, while we thought that the Jazz could get the Suns and the Warriors at the top of the Western Conference, they now have to fight with the cheeky little ones from Tennessee, which was not necessarily expected a few weeks ago. .
Sources: Rudy Gobert has cleared the NBA’s health and safety protocols. The Jazz went 1-4 with a 120.8 defensive rating without their All-NBA big man.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) January 14, 2022
Rudy Gobert said he expects to play against the Nuggets on Sunday
— Eric Walden (@tribjazz) January 14, 2022
The number one cause of this fall? A defense in open-door mode simply unable to hold on without Rudy Gobert protecting the paint. 120.8 defensive rating over the five games without Rudy, the worst in the NBA, it’s just a disaster and it shows how far Utah’s last opponents – namely Toronto, Indiana, Detroit and Cleveland – have amused by the Jazz. Sometimes singled out when the Mormons struggle against teams practicing small-ball basketball, Gobert proves perhaps more than ever today his enormous importance in the defensive system of Utah, all that without playing. Because yes, having Hassan Whiteside in his place is not at all the same delirium (even if he too entered the COVID protocol). And especially, this very bad period underlines the defensive limits of the Jazz in terms of external defense, limits already seen in the series against the Clippers during the last Playoffs and clearly highlighted without the presence of Rudy, usually present to fill the holes thanks to his overall defensive impact. This should in any case push the Jazz a little more towards a trade before the trade deadline (scheduled for February 10) to strengthen at this level, and thus avoid another disappointment in the Playoffs, Utah still seeking to reach the Western Conference Finals stage.
Rudy Gobert’s Private Jazz is not really Jazz. The return of the Frenchie should do the Mormons a lot of good, but they will still have to find a way to beef up their defensive game because otherwise – as Aimé says so well – they will face big disappointments.
Source texte : ESPN, The Salt Lake Tribune
The absent are always wrong. Except Rudy.
How violent this stat. https://t.co/khwUQsWmsQ– Alex TrashTalk & TBNL (@ABallNeverLies) January 13, 2022
For everyone saying Rudy Gobert can’t win DPOY because of last year’s Clippers series— Look at what’s been happening without him the last few games.
He’s Utah’s most important player, and the most impactful defensive player in the sport– this stretch is proving it.
— Justin Terminate (@TermineRadio) January 13, 2022
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