The Utah Jazz have been rolling so far in the playoffs. They followed up a tough OT loss against the Denver Nuggets with a huge 124-105 blowout Wednesday night — which has left the Nuggets defense a tad bit frustrated. One thing that's been working so well for the Jazz is the screen-and-roll game they have with their guards and their towering anchor in center Rudy Gobert. Which is something Nuggets forward Monte Morris has a few questions on.
“He does a good job at setting screens,” Morris said (per KSL.com). “I don't think all of them are legal. I mean, a ref can't call all of them.”
Morris has been tasked to be one of the main defenders of the Jazz backcourt which has been led by the impressive play of Donovan Mitchell. The Jazz guard dropped 57 points in Game 1 and 30 points in Game 2 and has utilized Gobert's size as a screener to facilitate their offense.
“It's the playoffs. We know physical basketball, so he's just setting good screens — and you gotta give him credit for that,” Morris added. “He's getting his guys open and being a rim threat.”
With the series even at one game each, the matchup is down to a virtual best-of-five series and Morris is confident that his Nuggets will eventually end up on top. Hopefully, the impending return of Nuggets guard Gary Harris helps their cause.
“Honestly, we know we're the better team,” he said. “We've beat them on numerous occasions, so we're not trying to overreact.”
With Utah's offense designed to revolve around their big guy, Denver has no choice but to adapt and figure out a way around Gobert and whoever he's picking for. Something Morris and company should figure out sooner rather than later if they want to control their first round series.
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