Nine months ago, the Utah Jazz franchise faced a similar situation. The No. 6 seed Jazz held a 3-1 lead over the No. 3 seed Denver Nuggets in the first round of the 2020 NBA Playoffs. They seemed like the more dominant team.
This year, it’s a bit different. While No. 1 seed Utah again owns a 3-1 lead in this series against the No. 8 seed Memphis Grizzlies, this year’s squad is favored to win the series.
With Bojan Bogdanovic out due to a wrist injury at this point last postseason, it was amazing the Jazz even obtained a 3-1 lead. Now, they’re the heavily favored team. Per the ESPN.com Basketball Power Index, not only do they have over a 72 percent chance to win Game 5, but they also have a league-best 27.4 percent chance to hoist the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.
the Jazzmen</a> infamously became one of 13 teams in league history to have ever blown a 3-1 lead.</p>
<p>This year, it’s a bit different. While No. 1 seed Utah again owns a 3-1 lead in this series against the No. 8 seed Memphis Grizzlies, this year’s squad is favored to win the series.</p>
<p>With Bojan Bogdanovic out due to a wrist injury at this point last postseason, it was amazing the Jazz even obtained a 3-1 lead. Now, they’re the heavily favored team. Per the <em>ESPN.com</em> Basketball Power Index, not only do they have over a 72 percent chance to win Game 5, but they also have a <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/06/02/utah-jazz-3-rudy-gobert-finishing/"https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/page/BPI-Playoff-Odds/espn-nba-basketball-power-index-playoff-odds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">league-best 27.4 percent chance</a> to hoist the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.</p>
<p>At 7:30 p.m. MT Wednesday in Salt Lake City, two-time All-Star center <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/06/02/utah-jazz-3-rudy-gobert-finishing/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/goberru01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Rudy Gobert</a> will be the key factor in Utah’s quest to permanently dispose of Memphis and advance to the Western Conference Semifinals for the first time since 2018. Here are three reasons why the Jazz should see a giant performance from the 7-footer to take Game 5…</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/06/02/utah-jazz-3-rudy-gobert-finishing/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Reason No. 1 </a>
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<h2>Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert chasing the spirit of Mark Eaton</h2>
<p>While former Utah Jazz star <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/06/02/utah-jazz-3-rudy-gobert-finishing/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/e/eatonma01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Mark Eaton</a> passed away in a biking accident over the weekend, the legend of No. 53 lives on. Rudy Gobert is now chasing the ghost of his mentor.</p>
<p>Regarding the long term, Gobert’s 1,220 blocks as a Jazzman trail Greg Ostertag by just 32 for the third-most in franchise history. Andrei Kirilenko sits No. 2 with 1,380. Eaton, of course, had a career total of 3,064 blocks.</p>
<p>But Gobert should be alone at the top of another Utah Jazz list at any moment. Eaton twice won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award (1985, 1989). Gobert has a chance to surpass that this year as he is favored to receive the honor for the third time in his eight-year career.</p>
<p>That announcement is expected in the coming days or weeks.</p>
<p>It won’t be enough, though, to just again hold the title of the best defender in the league. No, the 28-year-old wants nothing more than to win a championship.</p>
<p>If Rudy Gobert protects the paint on defense and hustles back on offense, then his teammates will continue to reward their star center by feeding him for easy buckets at the rim…</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/06/02/utah-jazz-3-rudy-gobert-finishing/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Reason No. 2 </a>
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<h2>The Utah Jazz need a playoff alpha dog in the paint</h2>
<p>One knock against the Utah Jazz in the past, especially during the NBA Playoffs, has been that they lack that one player with a dog mentality.</p>
<p>Other teams have had it. For the Jazz, it was Jae Crowder not too long ago. Draymond Green has long been that guy for the Golden State Warriors. And Dillon Brooks is now that guy for the Memphis Grizzlies.</p>
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<p>The tough mentality of the less talented Grizzlies is a large reason that they were able to come out on top in Game 1 of this series, doing so in Salt Lake City. Sure, it also helped that Utah’s two-time All-Star guard, Donovan Mitchell, sat out in that game.</p>
<p>But now, to ensure the series does not linger on and spark nightmares of last year in Utah, it’s important for Gobert to remind himself that he isn’t the gangly rookie he once was. He has hit the gym and worked on his post moves.</p>
<p>As a result, while Gobert continues to do most of his work without the ball in his hands, his improvement when it comes to delivering buckets around the rim is still a large part of the Jazz attack…</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/06/02/utah-jazz-3-rudy-gobert-finishing/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Reason No. 3 </a>
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<span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> The 50 greatest Jazz players of all time </a> </div>
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<p><a href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/06/02/utah-jazz-3-rudy-gobert-finishing/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mitchdo01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Donovan Mitchell</a> and other players will get their dues on offense. However, there will be less pressure on them if Rudy Gobert channels his inner Mark Eaton, plays with tenacity, and creates extra opportunities for the team by way of his shot-blocking specialty.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">