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PORTLAND — In NBA games, a lot of the story is often about who is playing.
When the Utah Jazz tipped off against the Portland Trail Blazers, the bigger story was who wasn’t playing. Portland was missing forward LaMarcus Aldridge, which certainly hurt the Blazers’ game plan.
With that in mind, the odds for the Jazz to pick up a road win in Portland looked good. However, then Jazz coach Quin Snyder threw a wrench into everything when he chose to sit Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors.
No Hayward and Favors for the Jazz; no problem. The Jazz won in spite of missing Hayward, Favors and Trey Burke, earning a 111-105 victory over Portland.
Utah had a double-digit lead at halftime, leading 56-46, before the Blazers took an 80-77 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The win was exciting and unexpected in many ways with the available roster, but several points came out of the Jazz win.
Snyder often discusses with the media how learning is more important for Utah than winning. However, when both opportunities present themselves, Snyder is likely a fan of both.
Bryce Cotton, a night after scoring 11 points against the Memphis Grizzlies, finished with 11 points in 25 minutes of game time. Also, Rodney Hood continued his strong recent play, finishing with 21 points.
This season, the Jazz have won without Hayward; they’ve won without Favors; they’ve won without Burke. However, they haven’t quite figured out a way to win without all three, and the win has to go down as one of the most satisfying victories of the season.
With Hayward and Favors, Utah’s two leading scorers, out of the game, Booker took over, finishing with a team-high 36 points. Booker scored 17 points in a road win against Minnesota two weeks ago and scored Utah’s high in points for the season by an individual player.
Booker has become a fan-favorite, but he’s proven his ability as an energy player. He’s not just a guy who can make thunderous dunks; he’s got a chance to be a cornerstone for the franchise’s bench depth for years. The ability to do well in spots as a starter also increase his value.
Utah has been successful when it is the more physical team, and physicality helped the Jazz outlast Portland. The Jazz outrebounded Portland 48-39 and made 33-of-42 free throws. In comparison, the Blazers only attempted 22 free throws, making 17. It’s important to note the 15 offensive rebounds the Jazz picked up as well.
