1 stud and 2 duds from Utah Jazz loss to Warriors

The Utah Jazz and the Golden State Warriors are both championship hopefuls in 2021-22. In last night’s contest, the Warriors’ hopes came out looking a little more realistic. They took home a 123-116 victory.

Not that Jazz faithful should give up hope. The Warriors are a difficult draw on the wrong end of a back to back. It was always likely that their rest advantage would make the difference in this contest. The Jazz made a spirited third quarter run, scoring 41 points in that frame. Unfortunately, they seemed to spend all their energy in the process.

The Warriors dominated the team on both ends in the closing quarter. The Jazz struggled to get stops, and struggled to find easy transition baskets in the process. The entire system broke down, and the Warriors capitalized.

Here’s one stud and two duds from this rare Jazz loss.

Utah Jazz stud: Rudy Gobert

Rudy Gobert’s nickname may be the Stifle Tower, but fans might want to consider calling him the Pyramid. That’s how consistent the Jazz star has become.

The team may have lost last night, but that couldn’t fall on Gobert’s broad shoulders. He finished this contest with 20 points on 9/10 shooting and 19 rebounds. He didn’t block a shot, but he really didn’t need to. He altered almost countless attempts, which is reflected in his rebound total.

We should add, as a caveat, that Jordan Clarkson delivered a stud-like performance in this contest as well. He finished with 20 points on 8/14 shooting from the field and 4/7 shooting from deep. In fact, this was Clarkson’s best game of the season in which he shared the floor with Donovan Mitchell.

It simply felt wrong to designate two studs in a loss. Clarkson was outstanding, but Rudy Gobert was more impactful. Consider Clarkson an honorary stud if you like.