The Utah Jazz were supposed to win last night’s contest. The Houston Rockets are in the early stages of a rebuild, and their 15-41 record lands that at the bottom of the Western Conference.
Still, no team is “supposed” to win any game by 34 points. That’s exactly what the Utah Jazz did last night.
Utah Jazz led by balanced effort
We opted against the studs and dud format for this article. Simply put, there were no duds in Utah’s 135-101 destruction of the Rockets.
The closest might have been Mike Conley. The veteran point guard finished with only 2 points on 1/8 shooting from the field. He compensated for his poor shooting with 10 assists and 4 steals.
In a game where his shot was clearly not falling, Conley stopped shooting and found other ways to contribute. It was an on-brand performance for a consummate professional.
Otherwise, the Jazz got solid contributions across the board. Donovan Mitchell was outstanding with 30 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds. Bojan Bogdanovic had 22 points on 8/14 shooting from the field, with 7 rebounds.
The backup centers came to play as well. Hassan Whiteside had 11 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocks in only 18 minutes. Udoka Azubuike managed to score 10 points on 4/4 shooting from the field in merely 8 minutes. Azubuike is rapidly proving what kind of place he deserves in this league.
Jordan Clarkson also delivered a strong performance with 16 points on 5/10 shooting from the field. It may have been his most efficient performance alongside Donovan Mitchell on the year. Clarkson chose his spots like the veteran that he is, providing an offensive punch for the second unit without compromising its efficiency.
All of those performances were encouraging, however, one player’s evening meant a little more to the Utah Jazz than any other.
Utah Jazz welcome back Rudy Gobert
The Utah Jazz have had a lot of needs lately. None have been as pressing as the return of Rudy Gobert.
In what has become typical Gobert fashion, he was ejected with 6:32 left in the game after receiving his second technical. It’s hard to imagine what had Gobert so upset in this blowout. Either way, the Jazz welcomed the return of his competitive energy.
Quin Snyder chose to ease his star center back into the rotation, with Gobert seeing only 22 minutes of action. Still, the Stifle Tower looked every bit his old self, finishing with 14 points on 7/8 shooting and 7 rebounds in that timeframe.
The Utah Jazz are back
In case you’ve lost count, that’s six consecutive wins for the Jazzmen.
The stakes are high this season. Any time a veteran heavy, win-now team suffers a skid as severe as the Jazz’s recent one, alarm bells ring. That holds doubly true when whispers of their best player’s discontent grow louder.
Hopefully, this recent stretch of Utah Jazz basketball will silence those voices before they’re screaming. They’ll hope to make it 7 in a row against the struggling Lakers on Wednesday evening.