Derrick Favors handles Karl-Anthony Towns
With Rudy Gobert out for extended time, we’re going to lean heavily on Derrick Favors to hold down the paint…so far so good. Favors was a beast against the Nets. Finishing with 24 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks.
He has looked healthy this season, but with the lack of spacing on this Jazz team and by playing next to Gobert, it has limited his ability to put up numbers. On Saturday night, we saw the Favors we thought was going to break out last season before injuries derailed his year.
Against the Timberwolves, we’ll be able to see if Saturday’s performance was real or not. The Nets do not have a strong defensive frontcourt, but against the Wolves, he will be facing Karl-Anthony Towns and Taj Gibson. Towns is averaging 21 points, 11 rebounds, and close to two blocks per game. He is one of the best offensive bigs in the league, and he is only 21 years old (turns 22 on the 15th).
His one primary fault is his defense. He has a minus-0.5 defensive box plus/minus, and a 112.1 defensive rating this season. To put that into context, only Jonas Jerebko has a worse defensive rating on the Jazz. Contrast that with Favors, who has a D-rating of 98.2, which is actually superior to Gobert.
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Without Gobert, the spacing looked much better, which should allow Favors to thrive. He already had a strong game against the Wolves earlier in the season, scoring 16 points and stretching the floor effectively. Look for him to be dominant once again.
I’m expecting another 20-point, 10-rebound performance from D-Favs.