The Utah Jazz are proving that their recent stretch of losses probably had more to do with injuries than anything else.
Maybe that should have been obvious all along. This team is deep, talented, well-designed and well-coached. Most teams in the NBA will struggle to win games without their 2 best players. We should have never expected the Jazz to be an exception.
Last night, they capped off their third consecutive victory. It’s no coincidence that it was Donovan Mitchell’s third game since returning from injury.
Fans could have expected improvement with him back in the lineup. With that said, nobody could have anticipated last night’s 111-85 drubbing of the Golden State Warriors.
Here are 3 studs and 1 dud from that contest.
Utah Jazz stud: Trent Forrest
If Trent Forrest is growing into his game, it couldn’t be happening at a better time for the Utah Jazz.
This team recently lost Joe Ingles, and frankly, yesterday’s trade did little towards replacing him. As of the time of this writing, the Jazz have less than six hours to broker another deal. If they don’t, Forrest may become a more important part of this team.
Last night, he justified that potential importance. Forrest finished with 11 points on 5/9 shooting from the field, and 5 assists. Of his 4 misses, 3 were from three-point range.
That is a potential hole in Forrest’s game, but luckily, there aren’t any other discernible ones. Forrest plays with a control that belies a wiseness beyond his years. He waits for the right pass, the right shot: basically, the right play.
It’s almost reminiscent of Joe Ingles. Jazz fans will be disappointed if they’re expecting Forrest to completely replicate Ingles’ steadiness. He may, however, be able to provide a portion of it.