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

Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports)
Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports)
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Utah Jazz
Nikola Jokic vs Utah Jazz forward Rudy Gay (Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports)

Utah Jazz dud: Rudy Gay

Rudy Gay’s subpar performance last night was, effectively, no big deal. The Jazz got the win by a longshot. Gay doesn’t command a massive chunk of Quin Snyder’s offense only to waste it. He’s developed a winning habit of increasing his volume on nights when he’s accurate.

Last night, that wasn’t the case. Accordingly, the veteran finished with 7 points on 2/7 shooting from the field in 21 minutes. It’s interesting that Eric Paschall, the most similar player on this Jazz team, finished with 3 more points in a mere 9 minutes of action.

Gay disappeared, and that’s a luxury he’s afforded on this Jazz team. His performance was no cause for concern for Jazz fans. It was still poor enough to qualify as a dud against the Denver Nuggets.

Gay’s struggles aside, this was a quality win for the Utah Jazz. The team should feel confident that, with Rudy Gobert in the fold, they’re the team they thought they were heading into 2021-22. Hopefully his availability is a non-issue for the rest of 2021-22.