Utah Jazz: Rudy Gobert’s return couldn’t come at a better time

Rudy Gobert has returned to the starting lineup for the Utah Jazz after recovering from another knee injury. His return couldn’t have come at a better time.

After missing a little over a month with his second knee injury of the season, Rudy Gobert is back.

The Utah Jazz star center returned to action on Friday night against the New York Knicks for the first time since Dec. 15, when he suffered a sprained PCL in his left knee and a bone bruise in his tibia.

The injury was the second knee injury of the season for Gobert, who suffered a bone bruise in his right knee earlier in the year.

But now, the Jazz are hoping their big man is back for good.

In his first action in over a month, Gobert returned to his old form in Friday’s 117-115 loss to the Knicks, posting 23 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks and one assist in nearly 30 minutes of action. Gobert shot 7-of-10 from the field and went 9-for-15 from the free throw line in the game.

But not only is it good to see the star center back on the court, it couldn’t come at a better time for the struggling Jazz.

Prior to his return on Friday night, Gobert has appeared in 18 games during the 2017-18 NBA season. In those 18 games, he averaged 11.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 1.2 assists in 29.9 minutes per game. Utah went 7-11 during that stretch.

The J-Notes

Although the Jazz were around .500 with Gobert in the lineup, their struggles have turned up a notch for really the past two months, most of which came without Gobert in the lineup.

Following its loss to New York on Friday night, the rough stretch continued for Utah, now having lost 16 of its last 20 games, sliding further and further down in the Western Conference standings.

Heading into Saturday night’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers in Utah, the Jazz hold an overall record of 18-27 so far this season, sitting in 10th place in the Western Conference.

Utah, however, has some ground to make up, as it remains 5.5 games behind the New Orleans Pelicans and Clippers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the conference. What could be even more concerning for the Jazz is that they are just three games separating them in the 10th seed and Dallas in the 14th seed.

That’s why the return of All-Defensive and All-NBA center Gobert couldn’t have come at a better time for the Jazz.

Not only is Gobert Utah’s best player, especially on the defensive side of the ball, but the Jazz have had a very hard time making up for his near double-double numbers he has contributed in every game he’s played in this season.

With bad luck, specifically injuries, continuing to rack up for Utah, it’s good for the organization to get some positive news this season.

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The return of Gobert couldn’t have come at a better time for the Jazz, who have been quickly falling just over midway through the regular season. Although Gobert won’t automatically propel Utah back into the playoff race, the star center certainly gives the Jazz a better shot at saving their season.