The Utah Jazz Desperately Need Derrick Favors Back

As the Utah Jazz struggle to maintain consistent play, the absence of Derrick Favors has become more and more detrimental to the team’s success. As his return nears, the upcoming reunion of Favors and Rudy Gobert in the post should provide an enormous boost to the Jazz on both ends of the court.

A bit of good news. Derrick Favors’ status for the Utah Jazz’s match-up on Wednesday against the New York Knicks has been upgraded from “out” to “doubtful.”

Ok, so not necessarily that good of news as the doubtful status makes it appear likely that Favors will still miss his 15th game in a row, but at least it’s a small step in the right direction. Nevertheless, what was originally presumed to be just a short absence for Favors who was suffering from back spasms has now turned into a near quarter-season hiatus for the Jazz’s best post player.

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During Favors’ 14-game absence, the Jazz have gone 6-8. Not a horrible mark by any means, but when considering the teams the Jazz have lost to over that stretch, it isn’t unrealistic to expect a better showing out of this up-and-coming Utah team. This is especially true considering that two of the Jazz’s wins in that stretch came over the hapless Los Angeles Lakers while they suffered losses to teams with worse records such as the Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves. In each of these games, the lack of Favors in the middle was certainly felt.

In Monday’s most recent loss to the Charlotte Hornets, the Jazz fought hard until the very end, but ultimately fell short in double overtime as Charlotte’s Kemba Walker brought down the Jazz behind a career-high 52 points. Trey Lyles, who has started in place of the injured Derrick Favors, has been playing better of late but had a tough game against the Hornets finishing with just 5 points on 2 of 7 shooting. While that inconsistency is to be expected of a rookie, Lyles’ inconsistency has been a stark contrast to the steady and reliable play of Favors.

Prior to the back injury, Favors was averaging a solid 16.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game while shooting 52.3% from the field. Without that steady production, the Jazz have been about as up and down as a team can get. The return of Rudy Gobert has certainly helped bolster the Utah defense, but the lack of the suffocating “twin towers” in the post that Favors and Gobert imposed on opposing teams during the second half of last season has definitely made it hard for the Jazz to maintain any sort of rhythm for a complete 48 minutes.

The Jazz now have an 18-23 record and hold on to a narrow half-game lead over the Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings for eighth place in the West. Ironically, the Jazz lost to each of those two teams in back-to-back games on January 13th and 14th. In both of those contests, Trey Lyles had two of his best games of the season, but Gobert was unable to get going, putting up just two points against Sacramento and three against Portland. This seeming inability for both Lyles and Gobert to coexist on the court is further proof of the Jazz’s desperate need for Favors to return to action.

While Lyles is certainly looking improved and is gaining valuable experience, Favors’ return will allow the rookie to utilize what he has learned to provide a spark off the bench similar to what back-up Trevor Booker offers. With Favors back in the starting rotation, it will take a lot of the pressure to score in the post off of Gobert. As defenses focus more on stopping Favors, the bigger offensive threat of the two, it will likely open up more easy looks for Gobert rather than forcing him to be make heavily defended shots in the paint. On the defensive end, Favors will finally be able to return to his preferred power forward position which he wasn’t playing as much while Gobert was sidelined.

It’s amazing to think that Gobert and Favors haven’t played a game together since November 30th. After realizing that harsh reality, it’s no wonder that the Jazz have struggled to maintain any sort of consistency. While Favors still has a few games to go before he’s back on the court, the upgrade in his status to doubtful is at least a reassuring sign that a return to normalcy for the Jazz’s starting lineup should be just around the corner. That return will provide an enormous boost to the starters, more depth as Lyles slides back to the bench, and hopefully enough consistency to help the Jazz maintain their slim grasp on eighth place in the West.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com/stats