Utah Jazz: 3 studs and 1 dud from gutsy win over Hawks

Utah Jazz dud: Trent Forrest

We feel badly about picking on Trent Forrest. We really do. The Utah Jazz sophomore has had precious few opportunities to strut his stuff since being drafted by the team. It’s unfortunate that he blew the one he had last night.

We’re not here to protect feelings though. We’re here to identify a dud from last night’s win over the Hawks. Forrest may have personified the term in this contest.

In Donovan Mitchell’s absence, Forrest saw an uncharacteristic 19 minutes of playing time. In that ample window, he managed 0 points. He attempted one shot. He got a rebound, and an assist that was nullified by a single turnover. He committed two fouls.

He was virtually invisible.

Adding insult to injury, rookie Jared Butler actually outperformed the sophomore yesterday. Butler finished with 5 points on 2/2 shooting from the field. He played for 2 entire minutes.

Forrest frequently appeared lost in yesterday’s contest. He made a home on the weak side of the action. We’d hesitate to claim that he was avoiding the ball, but he didn’t look like he wanted it very badly either. On defense, Forrest was serviceable, but did little to distinguish himself.

19 minutes. Zero points on a single field attempt. That, Utah Jazz faithful, is the definition of a dud.

In the end, Utah Jazz fans should see the Forrest for the trees in this one (sorry). Their club was without their offensive engine in Donovan Mitchell, and they pulled out a road win vs a quality opponent. Hopefully, Mitchell is cleared to play against a much tougher Miami Heat squad tomorrow evening.