Los Angeles Clippers: 3 Takeaways From Tough Game 4 Loss
No. 2: The Return of Rudy Gobert (and Derrick Favors)
The Los Angeles Clippers were already in trouble in the frontcourt with Blake Griffin out. That issue was compounded when the Utah Jazz announced that Rudy Gobert would return for Game 4.
In spite of his hyperextended knee, Gobert had a fantastic game that helped Utah both when he was on the floor and when he was on the bench.
Gobert finished with 15 points and made all six of his field goal attempts, and looked pretty healthy while doing so:
Gobert also added 13 rebounds in just less than 24 minutes of playing time. On the defensive end, he limited the Clippers to nine makes inside of five feet on 18 attempts, per NBA.com. For reference, the Clippers were 64-of-87 in that range during the first three games.
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He also held DeAndre Jordan to 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Gobert’s return did not just mean the return of a solid offensive center with a chance at winning Defensive Player of the Year. Gobert’s return also made that Derrick Favors could return to his usual role coming off the bench.
After a poor performance as a starter in Game 3, Favors put up 17 shots on 10 shots and six rebounds in his 24 minutes of playing time. The return of Gobert also meant that Quin Snyder did not have to roll out any of the disastrous lineups with Boris Diaw at center.
The Clippers will have to contend with Gobert for the rest of this series. This does not appear to be a Jusuf Nurkic situation; Gobert was not at full strength, but he was close enough that the Jazz will keep him out there barring an unexpected setback.
While Gobert’s return will change the series more than anything else that happened Sunday night, he still could not wrest the top spot on this list from Utah’s crunch time assassin.