Stay. Healthy.
The thought of the Jazz not being able to accomplish this one is so worrisome to me that I almost considered not including it. Nevertheless, considering their past track record and how vital it truly will be to their success, I found myself with no other choice.
The biggest issue the Jazz have faced the past three years has been a constant struggle with injuries. It’s seemed like time and time again, just when the team was clicking or there was a dazzling breakthrough on the horizon, a devastating injury has struck and forced Utah back a few paces.
With them playing so marvelously before the break and with the most cohesion and chemistry that we’ve seen all year, particularly among the Gobert-Rubio-Derrick Favors trio, it would be catastrophic to lose anyone to injury now and set that back.
A big question re: Utah -- and one that is really hard to answer: is anything about Ricky Rubio's surge real, or is he just on one of his random jumper hot streaks that never last? https://t.co/IiTBrarpmO
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) February 14, 2018
Assuming all is well with Rubio after the break, the Jazz should be about the healthiest they’ve been all season. Add in the fact that Dante Exum should make a return sometime next month and this could soon be the most complete Jazz team we’ve witnessed in quite some time.
But with that being said, let’s go ahead and all go knock on some wood, because we’ve been down this path before. As things stand currently, the Jazz are in great shape to earn a playoff spot, but one unforeseen injury could very well take that out of their grasp in one fell swoop. The Jazz’s monumental leap in their record coincided with the healthy return of Rudy Gobert. If they’re to stay in the playoff race, they’ll need to maintain the health of the entire team from here on out.