Key Stat – Rebounds
Despite the fact that LaMarcus Aldridge wasn’t in action in the last contest against the Jazz, the Spurs thoroughly dominated the Jazz on the boards. San Antonio won the rebounding battle 42-36, which is surprising in and of itself given Utah’s solid rebound differential this season of +3.1. Utah did do well on the offensive boards, winning that battle 12-8, but the Spurs grabbed ten more on defense, grabbing 34 compared to Utah’s 24.
The Spurs are without a doubt a good rebounding team themselves, so in some ways that outcome wasn’t all that surprising, but in a bout where Aldridge was absent and Gobert was able to haul in 14 rebounds alone, you’d think that the Jazz would be able to claim the advantage in this category.
And in a game where Utah lost by just six points, crashing the boards better and executing enough in this one area could have very well tipped the scale and made all the difference. In Utah’s commanding win over the Spurs at the beginning of the season, their red-hot shooting was a major reason why they were able to pull off the victory, however they did also do a better job of winning the rebounding battle, grabbing 39 boards to San Antonio’s 34.
Thus the team who has logged the most rebounds has won each game this season (in the second contest San Antonio won the rebound battle 49-42). Therefore, if Gobert and a likely-to-play Favors can help spark the Jazz in that regard and dominate the glass, then Utah could very well earn a huge win to close out the season and tie the regular season series with the Spurs.