3 studs and 1 dud from much-needed Utah Jazz win over Nuggets

The Utah Jazz needed a victory vs the Denver Nuggets on Sunday. They needed it as badly as they’ve needed a win all season. With 3x Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert returning to action, they got one. With a final score of 125-102, this game was never in jeopardy for the Jazzmen.

The result underlined Gobert’s importance to this Jazz club. One would be hard pressed to say that he slowed reigning MVP Nikola Jokic down, as the Nuggets big man finished with 25 points, 15 rebounds and 14 assists.

Imagine his statline if Gobert had sat.

Regardless, a rim protector’s primary assignment is less important than their defense against a team in general. To that end, Gobert picked up precisely where he left off. The paint was sealed off and surrounded by Do Not Enter signs throughout every minute that Gobert saw the floor.

With the Nugget struggling to create inside looks, the Jazz’s perimeter defenders were able to close out threes with their usual aggressiveness. As a result, the Nuggets shot 44.2% from the field and 25.6% from downtown.

Here are 3 studs and 1 dud from a rousing team victory.

Utah Jazz stud: Eric Paschall

We could actually name a lot of Jazzmen here. Royce O’Neale contributed 10 points on 4/6 shooting while maintaining his usual defensive energy. Bojan Bogdanovic had 21 points on 8/15 shooting from the field, maintaining his usual brand of elite tertiary offense. Jordan Clarkson was solid with 16 points on 4/9 shooting and 6 assists.

We’re going with the younger Paschall. When key Jazz rotation players were absent, Paschall stepped up in a larger role. So it’s impressive that when they returned, he thrived in a smaller one. The third year forward finished this game with 10 points…in 9 minutes.

Paschall was 4/5 from the field: he almost couldn’t miss. It’s hard for younger players to make their mark in a crowded veteran rotation on a contending NBA team. However, Paschall has proven himself an offensive microwave over his recent stretch of play. He may earn a larger role in this offense if that trend continues.