The Jazz have already played without Rudy Gobert once this season. They'll now have to be without him again. The Utah big man is reportedly expected to miss one month due to a sprained PCL in his left knee.
This is the second injury that will sideline Gobert for an extended period of time. Earlier in the season, the Heat's Dion Waiters dived into his leg while going for a loose ball, which forced Gobert to miss 11 games. Only recently did he make his return to the Jazz.
Sources: Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert has been diagnosed with a sprained PCL in his left knee and bone bruise in tibia, expected to be sidelined for one month.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 16, 2017
Obviously the Jazz can't be happy to be missing such a huge part of their team, especially on defense, but they showed last time they can survive without Gobert. It was during their stretch without him that they began to find their offense and improve overall. The emergence of Donovan Mitchell as one of the NBA's best rookies has certainly helped.
Despite injuries, Gobert has had a solid season himself. He's still one of the NBA's best rim-protecting big men, but he's struggled to find his way on offense, which makes this time away from the team even worse. He's losing time he could be using to find and solve their struggles on offense.
Expect more minutes from Ekpe Udoh with Gobert out and an even larger role out of Derrick Favors. Those two played well in Gobert's absence last time and they'll have to step up once more.
