The Utah Jazz came into this season with a lot of hope, and although they are currently the seventh seed in the Western Conference they are below .500 with their 15-17 record. That record is actually pretty impressive when you consider how many injuries the Jazz have had to deal with, as Derrick Favors is currently out with a back issue, Dante Exum is out for the year and Alec Burks is out until after the All-Star break. The biggest injury to the Jazz, though, might be to Rudy Gobert, who has missed the past month with a knee injury. Gobert is working his way back, and a return in a couple of weeks seems realistic, according to Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune.
Gobert was injured in practice on Dec. 2 when a teammate fell into his legs under the basket. Gobert was diagnosed with a grade-2 sprain of the MCL in his left knee and was given a 6-8 week timetable to return despite not needing surgery. It has now been a little more than a month since the injury, and Gobert seems to be making massive progress as he is jumping off both legs and dunking.
The team has still not given Gobert an official timetable for when exactly he might return, but all signs point to him being back on the shorter end of that 6-8 week timeline. Gobert was seen practicing on Sunday, running from end to end working on his jump shot, and he looked to be moving well, according to Andy Larsen of Salt City Hoops.
Before the injury, Gobert had played in 14 games and was averaging career highs in points (9.2), rebounds (10.9) and blocks per game (2.6). The Jazz were 8-8 when Gobert went down with the injury, and since he's been hurt they are 7-9, which is not a huge difference, but there is no denying how big of an impact the 7-foot-1 center has on the game, as he is one of the best rim protectors in the NBA.
The Jazz have dealt with many injuries, but a lot of them have been to key guys, so the fact that they're still in a playoff spot is impressive. Gobert might be the most important player on the team, as he is the anchor of the defense and is improving in every other area of his game as well. The good news for Utah is that Gobert doesn't look like he will miss too much more time, and when they get him and the rest of their guys back this team should be fun to watch.
