The Utah Jazz are red hot after reeling off six straight wins against some of the best teams in the NBA. Rudy Gobert, who has resurrected the Jazz’s season, will have another tough task ahead as he takes on Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Utah Jazz have put together a tremendous stretch of games to put themselves back in the playoff picture. Utah is 7-2 since the return of Rudy Gobert and the team is showing no signs of slowing down. Although, it hasn’t been an easy run for the Stifle Tower.
In Gobert’s absence, Utah really struggled defensively and was one of the bottom five teams in the league on that end of the floor. Since his return, however, the Jazz have flipped the switch and instantly became a top three defensive team.
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During the six-game win streak, Rudy has been tasked with guarding Andre Drummond, Jonas Valanciunas, LaMarcus Aldridge and most recently Anthony Davis. Some stiff competition indeed. But ‘Gobzilla’ has never backed down from a challenge. His numbers haven’t been too impressive but Rudy has once again proven to be the best defender in the NBA.
Although, his work is not done. The Jazz have one more important game to close out the road trip, and one of the best centers in the NBA awaits. Marc Gasol is coming off a career year, but productivity has plateaued and the Grizzlies have never been able to get going.
Memphis is coming into tonight’s game tied for the fourth worst record in the league. A lot of factors have gone into Memphis’ poor season, including the health status of Mike Conley who has played just 12 games this season. They have also lost some solid veterans in the offseason and fired David Fizdale to replace him with an inferior coach in J.B. Bickerstaff.
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The future for the Grizzlies appears to be bleak at best with only one young player that I believe has the potential to be a top 100 NBA player in Wayne Selden. Their first round pick in 2019 currently belongs to Boston which is going to make their rebuild all the more agonizing.
Memphis is coming off a loss last night against the Atlanta Hawks where the Grizz put up just 82 points against the sixth worst defense in the NBA. With Tyreke Evans sitting out until they can find a suitable deal, the Grizzlies offense is really suffering.
Rudy Gobert should have his imprint all over this game and it looks like it should be a relatively easy win for Utah on paper. But anything can happen in the NBA and the Jazz still have to play with the same intensity and physicality that has gotten them six straight wins. Although the personnel in Memphis has changed, their identity is still very much the same.
They play at the slowest pace in the league and like to grind out wins. Hopefully the Jazz can keep the hot streak going and close out the road trip on a high note with a win over the Grizzlies.
Next: Utah Jazz: Joe Ingles to help Donovan Mitchell with Dunk Contest?
Statistics courtesy of Basketball Reference and NBA.com.