Utah Jazz vs. Portland Trail Blazers: Keys to the Game

Key Performer – Rudy Gobert

Especially with Portland’s move to trade starting center Mason Plumlee to the Denver Nuggets for Jusuf Nurkic who will no doubt take some time to get acclimated to his new squad, the Blazers find themselves extremely thin at the center spot.

Nurkic is without a doubt a good player who could end up bringing a very positive impact to Portland, but it’s unlikely that he’ll accomplish that right away and even less probable that he’ll be able to stop a force such as Rudy Gobert.

Unfortunately, while he always gives everything he’s got when he plays, Gobert has gone a few games without putting up one of his mind-blowing dominant performances that Jazz fans have come to expect of him. Yet while one may think that doesn’t bode well for Rudy’s chances tonight, I actually think it will end up fueling him to an impressive game.

Gobert is well overdue for a bounceback game and going up against the likes of Portland newcomer Nurkic and backup center Meyers Leonard should provide him with an ample opportunity. If he’s able to get back up to par on both ends of the floor, he could very well directly lead the Jazz to a much-needed victory.