The Utah Jazz will go as far as Rudy Gobert can take them

The Utah Jazz had more starters dress for last night’s contest with the Indiana Pacers than almost anybody expected. Just about every player listed as questionable was available. Unfortunately, Rudy Gobert remained in the league’s health and safety protocols, and the Jazz dropped a winnable contest to the Indiana Pacers 125-113.

It’s hard to pin this one on any single Jazzman. Donovan Mitchell was fantastic in his return, scoring 36 points on 13/27 shooting from the field and 6/12 shooting from deep. He also added 9 assists with just 2 turnovers.

Otherwise, everyone on the team was solid offensively. Mike Conley only had 9 points, but he was an efficient 3/6 from the field and added 7 assists. He played the role of low usage floor general as well as possible.

Bojan Bogdanovic had 21 points on 7/16 shooting from the field and 3/9 shooting from three-point range. Jordan Clarkson had 18 points on 7/15 shooting, including a 2/5 mark from three-point range. Neither of those lines speak of elite efficiency, but neither man could be said to have shot the Jazz out of this one.

In fact, nobody could. This Jazz offense generally hummed, featuring its usual brand of steady ball movement and reliance on reasonably open three-point attempts. The Jazz were efficient, shooting 47.6% from the field and 42.9% from three-point range.

They did miss Rudy Gobert’s interior gravity in pick-and-roll sets. They missed him significantly more on the defensive end.

Utah Jazz can’t contain Pacers attack

If a psychic had told the Pacers they would snap a significant losing streak with a 125 point performance in January, it’s unlikely they’d have circled this matchup with the Utah Jazz on their calendars. In Gobert’s absence, however, any opponent’s calculus changes radically.

A discussion of Indiana’s performance has to start with Domantas Sabonis’ career night. He had 42 points on an unreasonable 18/22 shooting from the field.

Hassan Whiteside is one of the best backup bigs in the NBA, but he appeared ill-equipped to handle Sabonis last night. The star big man had his way with the Jazz, scoring with an array of head fakes on the low block, and frequently in the pick-and-roll.

Of course, pick-and-rolls are like the tango: they take two. On that note, Sabonis and Lance Stephenson looked like Indiana’s version of Karl Malone and John Stockton last night. The three-time Pacer finished this one with 16 points and 14 assists. Many of those helpers found Sabonis on the receiving end.

Utah Jazz lost without defensive anchor

While the duo of Sabonis and Stephenson stole the show with gaudy numbers, the Pacers were generally impressive. As a team, they shot 55% from the field and 48.3% from three-point range.

It was hard not to take note of the Jazz’s leaky interior defense. Whiteside may be elite when it comes to containing second units, but he struggled against the Pacers. That opened up opportunities for the Pacers on every front.

J-Notes readers could be forgiven if they’ve never heard of Duane Washington Jr., but he finished with 16 points. Justin Holiday contributed 15. This was an impressive team win for the Pacers, but it also underlined the importance of Rudy Gobert to this Utah Jazz defense.

The Utah Jazz will be fine. Gobert will return from his second bout with COVID-19 to protect the rim once again. He probably won’t be able to in time for the team’s contest with the Detroit Pistons, with that said.