Mired in the midst of a four-game losing streak defined by widespread player absences owing to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Utah Jazz got some much-needed good news Friday morning: Rudy Gobert and Rudy Gay are back.
Both the All-NBA center and key free-agent addition had been in the NBA’s health and safety protocol after each testing positive for COVID-19.
Gobert missed the Jazz’s past five games, beginning in Denver on Jan. 5, when he was showing signs of illness but had thus far only returned a pair of negative rapid tests. He entered the protocol a day later when an overnight PCR test came back positive.
Gay, meanwhile, has missed three of the team’s past four games. The Jazz opted not to bring him to Toronto (along with most of their other rotation players) for fear of a positive test necessitating him having to quarantine in Canada. He then played in the Jazz’s next game, at Indiana. However, he subsequently missed Utah’s games against the Cavaliers and Pistons after entering the protocol over the weekend.
The Jazz’s frontcourt depth has been severely depleted during this stretch. Against the Nuggets, they were missing both Gobert and backup Hassan Whiteside, who was still recovering then from the effects of a concussion, and were forced to start little-played Udoka Azubuike. Then, against the Raptors, their big-man rotation consisted of Whiteside, 6-foot-6 Eric Paschall, and 10-day signee Norvel Pelle. In Indiana, both Whiteside and Gay played, but looked out of sorts throughout.
A day later, Gay was in the protocol, and a day after that, Azubuike joined him, leaving the Jazz with Whiteside, Paschall, and Pelle as their centers against the Pistons. Before the game against the Cavs, they learned Whiteside also had COVID-19, and Pelle was displaying symptoms. That led to the recently-returned Joe Ingles being the team’s tallest player (6-8) for the Cleveland game.
During this stretch, with three-time Defensive Player of the Year Gobert sitting out, Utah’s defense has cratered. They have allowed 118.6 points per game over the five games, and have been the league’s lowest-rated defense.
They allowed career-high scoring games by Domantas Sabonis (42, on 18-for-22 shooting) and rookie Cade Cunningham (29, on 10 of 17). They yielded triple-doubles to Fred VanVleet (who also scored 37 points) and Darius Garland. They enabled Saddiq Bey, who came in shooting 37% on the season, to drop in 29 points on 10-of-14 shooting, while the Pistons — who entered with the NBA’s lowest-rated offense — scored 78 second-half points on 59% shooting to rally from a 22-point deficit.
The Jazz’s next game is Sunday at Denver.
This story will be updated.
from The Salt Lake Tribune https://ift.tt/3KeNO9M
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