Mar 12, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) boxes out Houston Rockets forward Donatas Motiejunas (20) during the first half at EnergySolutions Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
In the club’s last game with the New York Knicks, the Utah Jazz put forth a defensive front that was just enough to compensate for both the absence of Gordon Hayward and a subpar offensive effort. Before the team took to the court to battle the Houston Rockets this evening, I opined that Utah would need a much stronger effort to hang with James Harden and crew.
"“With Gordon in the game this season, the Utah offense is scoring 104.9 points per 100 possessions. When he is on the bench, that number plummets to 96. The difference was evident in the Knicks game as the team stumbled to 87 points and nearly gave the game away. While the defense remained stingy in the win over New York, it’s going to take more than that to come out on top against Harden and company.”"
Ask and ye shall receive.
The Jazz had the performance on both sides of the ball that I requested, stomping the Rockets 109-91. Hayward returned for the Jazz and dropped one of his best box scores of the season with 29 points, seven assists and four boards. Hayward’s output aside, the Jazz players that stole the headlines tonight were Sgt. Swatter and the Hood.
Rudy Gobert and Rodney Hood both had career efforts against a Houston team that was obviously still reeling from its hard fought battle with the Portland Trail Blazers last night.
Mar 12, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz guard Rodney Hood (5) shoots the ball against Houston Rockets forward Trevor Ariza (1) during the first half at EnergySolutions Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
For the Hood, it was the second time in as many contests that he set a new career mark for scoring. Against New York, he dropped 17 but only connected on six of 16 shots from the field. Tonight, he finished with 20 and upped the efficiency to an even eight for 16 shooting. Slowly, but surely, Hood is showing what the Jazz saw in him on draft night.
Meanwhile, the newly-christened Sgt. Swatter continued to assert himself as one of the most dominating forces in the NBA. In the first period, Gobert became the first player in the league this season to have a double-double after just one quarter of play. He didn’t stop there, finishing the game with 19 points, 22 rebounds and four blocks.
It’s not often that a line like Hayward’s is overshadowed, but Hood and Gobert did just that with their play tonight. I hate to beat a dead horse here, but Hood is proving his value and in just a few short weeks, Gobert has transitioned from being a good player with high potential to a bona fide star in the league.
Speaking of stars, Harden was abysmal for the Rockets. He finished the game with 15 points on three of 13 shooting, including zero of five from three-point range. His teammates didn’t fare much better and, by the game’s waning moments, the Rockets looked defeated and disinterested.
With the win, the Jazz improved to 9-2 since last month’s All-Star break and are starting to look the part of one of the best teams in the league. What the team has done defensively over the past six weeks continues to amaze fans and prognosticators alike.
Time will tell, but if the Jazz continue to play like this heading into next season—look out Western Conference! It maybe the wild west, but Sgt. Swatter, the Hood and Jazz nation are equal to the task at hand.
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