Jazz at Hornets
Rudy Gobert is displaying that he's close to top form and the Utah
center attempts to follow up a huge performance when the Jazz visit the
Charlotte Hornets on Monday. Gobert missed 18 games with a knee injury
earlier this season and put forth his top effort of the campaign with 18
points, 18 rebounds and five blocked shots in Saturday's 109-82 rout of
the Los Angeles Lakers.
The superb outing came in Gobert's sixth game since returning and the points and rebounds represented his season high in both categories. "The more I touch the ball, the better I feel," Gobert told reporters. "If there's some periods I don't touch the ball, I can get a little rusty. I just feel better. My legs are stronger. My cardio was better this game, I didn't get really tired. That was a good thing." Charlotte is slipping down the Eastern Conference standings with nine losses in 10 games and suffered a 105-92 home loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday. Things could get worse for the Hornets as the contest against the Jazz is followed by a stretch in which six of the next seven games are on the road.
TV: 2 p.m. ET, ROOT (Utah), FSN Southeast (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE JAZZ (18-22): Having Gobert approaching full strength is a necessity for a club that continues to operate without power forward Derrick Favors. Persistent back troubles have Favors in jeopardy of missing his 14th consecutive game and repeated speculation of his imminent return have not come to fruition. Valuable reserve forward Trevor Booker sat out Saturday with a concussion and cleared the league's protocol on Sunday, so he is expected to be available to play against the Hornets.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (18-22): Charlotte has failed to reach 100 points five times during the 1-9 slide and is missing the firepower injured center Al Jefferson (knee) could provide. Charlotte coach Steve Clifford has hinted the lineup will be tinkered with once the team is back to full strength and forward Marvin Williams said the club has just gotten away from what it does best. "Everybody's still confident in our abilities and what we can be because we have shown what we can be on both ends on the floor," Williams told reporters. "We can be tough and scrappy on defense and we've got a lot of guys that can score the ball and make plays on offense."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Jazz have won 11 of the past 12 meetings.
2. Utah rookie F Trey Lyles is averaging 17.3 points on 20-of-30 shooting over the past three contests.
3. Charlotte reserve G Jeremy Lamb (toe) is in jeopardy of missing his third straight game.