Four months after the Utah Jazz flamed out in six games to the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference semifinals, Rudy Gobert says he battled severe back pain towards the end of the series.
In fact, Gobert said, had the Jazz won Game 6 and extended the second series to seven games, he probably would not have been able to play, according to Eric Walden of the Salt-Lake Tribune.
Gobert suffered a hard fall in Game 6, which he said dramatically limited his movement.
Of course, all this is easy to say in retrospect, long after the deeply disappointing playoff loss.
Frankly, even if true, this type of comment probably won't earn Gobert nor the Jazz — who are still working to be taken seriously as true title contenders — a ton of sympathy nor respect from the rest of the NBA.
Utah earned the best record in the West during the 2020-21 regular season and took the first two games of the conference semis. However, Los Angeles stormed back to win the final four games, despite the fact that Kawhi Leonard missed Games 5 and 6 after tearing his ACL.
In Game 6, Gobert put up 12 points (5-of-6 FG), 10 rebounds, and zero blocks in 42 minutes. For the series, the All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year averaged 12.5 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game.
Utah will begin the 2021-22 campaign — Gobert's ninth NBA season — with sky-high internal expectations. Their season begins on Wednesday when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Vivint Arena.
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