Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder is resting his faith on big man Derrick Favors, confident he'll be able to hold down the fort through the absence of centerpiece Rudy Gobert, according to Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News. Gobert will be sidelined for four-to-six weeks with a knee injury, sustained during Friday's tilt against the Miami Heat as Dion Waiters collided into his knee while diving for a loose ball.
“We've been through some of this before, every situation is different, every year is different,” said Snyder. “Losing Dante (Exum) is different than losing Joe (Johnson), losing Joe is different than losing Rudy. Impactful in different areas and different levels.”
“That's why it's a team game — it obviously gets harder, everybody knows Rudy is a high-level player and he anchors our defense in many ways, so our margin for error gets a little bit slimmer.”
Jazz coach Quin Snyder is still processing what Gobert’s injury means to the group. “Our margin for error gets a little bit slimmer.” pic.twitter.com/J2c7wP8y5N
— Eric Woodyard (@E_Woodyard) November 13, 2017
Favors will now have to move into the center spot, taking the bulk of the scoring and some of the defensive responsibilities that come with the position.
The Jazz have had problems scoring the ball since the start of the season and are even more vulnerable now after losing their best player for the next month, who is averaging 13.9 points, 10.5 rebounds, and a league-leading 2.5 blocks per game.
Favors had a great outing in his absence against the Brooklyn Nets, putting up a 24-point, 12-rebound double-double to pace the Jazz to a 114-106 win after playing a season-high 36 minutes.
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