Getting owned in the paint by an opponent is unfamiliar territory for Utah. It’s a plausible scenario that the Jazz could face again as long as centre Rudy Gobert remains sidelined, reports FoxNews.
Gobert will not play against the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 3 of the best-of-seven, first-round Western Conference playoff series Friday. He is still recovering from hyperextending his knee on the first possession of the series opener, and it could take a while before he is game-ready again.
Without Gobert protecting the rim, Utah surrendered 60 points in the paint in a 99-91 Game 2 loss to the Clippers that evened the series at 1-1 on Tuesday night. DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin led the way in crushing the Jazz’s interior defence with a flurry of dunks and layups.
The Clippers also dominated the glass at crucial times and forced Utah to try to beat them on offence instead of defence. Jazz coach Quin Snyder said his team needs to step up defensively in other ways to deal with Gobert’s absence.
“Rudy is not going to walk through the door right now,” Snyder said. “Whatever adjustments we make, it’s not going to replicate Rudy. There’s things we can do a little differently but, as far as just shoring up the paint, I’m not sure that’s going to happen at a level Rudy did it.”
