Utah Jazz Game 7 Primer: Gobert Set to Play, Three-Ball Has to Fall

The Utah Jazz face a Game 7 this afternoon in which Rudy Gobert should indeed be active and the team has to find its stroke from deep if they hope to advance.

For the record, I’m typically a huge fan of Game 7’s. As the culmination of an incredible series in which both teams face elimination, it’s always crazy to see what will take place in such a win-or-die situation.

However, in the case of this year’s Utah Jazz, I would have been more than happy if their current playoff series had ended in Game 6. Utah’s chances were looking good prior to the contest as they had the opportunity to close out their foe on their home court, but nevertheless the Jazz faltered and ended up falling 98-93 on Friday night.

Therefore given that the Jazz failed to take care of business in Game 6, their backs will be just as much up against the wall as the Clippers as they head to Los Angeles for a decisive Game 7. And although the Jazz were pinned as having a 75 percent chance of advancing to the second round prior to Friday’s game per ESPN’s BPI Predictions, that number has done a complete flip-flop as it now has the Clippers at a 67 percent chance of winning the series.

In other words, the Jazz have their work cut out for them if they hope to arise victorious. On the bright side, they’ve won two games in LA already in the series and oddly enough, the road team is 4-2 so far in this match-up.

And fortunately for the Jazz, Rudy Gobert, who injured his knee in Game 1, missed Games 2 and 3, then tweaked his ankle in Game 6 and ended up on the bench to finish the game, will indeed be in action for Game 7.

Although the injury report from Utah Jazz PR has him officially listed as “Probable”, several others have reported that he will indeed be good to go.

To be frank, Gobert hasn’t appeared to be his explosive, dominant self that Jazz fans had the pleasure of seeing after the All-Star break this year. Nevertheless, his length and commanding presence down low have certainly factored into Utah’s success in a big way and simply having him on the court and active for Game 7 will no doubt be critical for the Jazz.

But beyond what Rudy Gobert is or isn’t able to do, it may sound overly simple, but the major improvement that the Utah Jazz need from Game 6 is for the ball to just go through the net, particularly on three-point attempts. Utah finished a dismal 7-of-26 (.269) from behind the arc in Game 6 and many of those misses were wide open.

Joe Ingles, Joe Johnson and Rodney Hood, three of Utah’s most exceptional sharpshooters, went a combined 1-of-13 from beyond the arc. If those three had shot at even a 30 percent clip, which is well below each of their season averages, then Game 6 would have been a completely different ballgame.

Although points in the paint have been one of the most talked about stats in this series, the Jazz have had their two worst three-point shooting nights of the series in the past two games and whether or not they’re able to get out of that slump could very well determine the outcome of the game.

There’s no questioning that the result of Game 6 was a disappointing one. Not only were the Jazz expected by many to win going in, but they had plenty of opportunities to seize control during the game, but unfortunately their shots wouldn’t fall. Late in the game they were close to pulling off a miracle comeback, but Joe Johnson put up a rare miss in the clutch and Utah fell just short.

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Regardless of what happens in today’s Game 7, it’s been an incredible ride for this Jazz team that went from a lottery team to a stout Western Conference foe in just one season. If Gobert is able to contribute significantly and Utah’s role guys are able to find their stroke from deep, the Jazz could still pull off the stunning upset in the series and go on to have a chance to prove their mettle against the best team in the league in the second round.

Otherwise, it’s very likely that the old adage, “there’s always next year” will apply once again and Utah will be faced with simply looking to the future and hoping for good things to come in the offseason and beyond.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com