Rudy Gobert won’t be swallowing shots at the rim for the Utah Jazz for a while.
Make the appropriate sad faces whenever you please.
The news came swiftly and unexpected Wednesday night, with the Jazz releasing a statement that outlined the indeterminable terms of Gobert’s absence:
After sustaining a left knee injury during today’s practice at Zions Bank Basketball Center, Gobert underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) this afternoon at University of Utah Health Care’s Orthopaedic Center. Following the examination, Jazz physicians Dr. Travis Maak and Dr. David Petron determined that Gobert suffered a Grade II sprain of the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his left knee.
No surgery is required and Gobert will be out indefinitely. Further updates will be provided when appropriate.
Although MCL sprains have tricky timetables, this is better than a tear. The absence of surgery implies only good things, provided Gobert gives the injury enough time to heal and doesn’t risk re-aggravating it with a premature return. And the Jazz sure seem to be taking every precaution imaginable here. They didn’t provide a definitive timetable for his return, and while the loss of Gobert seriously impedes their playoff hopes, they have no reason to rush Gobert back.
At only 23, he is a huge part of Utah’s future. He is its future. He figures to be a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate/winner, and he’s the foundation around which they have built their first-rate defense.
It’ll be interesting to see how that defense fairs without him. The Jazz are statistically more stingy with Gobert off the floor, according to NBA.com, but he’s spent nearly twice as much time in the game as he has on the bench. Still, the sample size (nearly 300 minutes) is large enough to make you believe the Jazz might be fine. Derrick Favors is a stout rim protector himself, and he can be slotted at the 5 without hesitation.
The Jazz really should see this as an opportunity to perhaps make some changes and reinvent their offense for a bit. Dual-big lineups dominate their rotation, because, well, they have to. Gobert and Favors are too freaking good to be on minutes caps.
But playing Favors exclusively at the 5 will be a tantalizing proposition if the Jazz can dot the three-point line with four shooters. Trying to swing a trade for the Orlando Magic’s Channing Frye would make sense, or head coach Quin Snyder could go for broke by pinning Gordon Hayward to the 4 and then playing Rodney Hood, Alec Burks and Trey Burke on the wings.
Something along those lines will have to be done. Utah’s offense is rather uninventive to begin with, and it’s efficiency plummets without Gobert, per NBA.com. Though the Jazz should be able to survive defensively, some cosmetic offensive changes are officially a must.
