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Utah Jazz’s Rudy Gobert Defends Team’s Tactics in Ugly Win over New York Knicks

Published 01/27/2021, 8:49 AM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

Rudy Gobert and the Utah Jazz defeated the New York Knicks in their second meeting of the season. After failing to defeat the Knicks in their first go-around, the Jazz bounced back, and are currently on a nine-game winning streak. It was a full circle victory for Utah, but it was by no means an easy win, given the tough and rugged defensive play from Tom Thibodeau’s New York Knicks.

Rudy Gobert okay with ‘ugly’ team win

Gobert came forward after the game and defended their tactics against New York. He believes that the entire team learned their lesson after the first loss against the Knicks. And since then, they have been on a roll. But they understood that to match up against the Knicks, they have to play a similar style of bully basketball.

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He said, “That’s exactly what we talked about the 1st time we played the Knicks. Even nights when we struggle offensively, we can still be in position to win the game … It’s really who we are, and now we understand it and embrace it more than ever.”

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The Jazz has been excellent since losing to the Knicks in early January. The team currently has a 13-4 record in the NBA, the second-best in the league behind the Lakers. Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert look really dominant during their games against strong opposition, and their chemistry is unshaken after their falling out last year.

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Utah Jazz – potential title contenders?

Currently, the Jazz are looking like a solid playoff team. After blowing a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets last year, the franchise will be looking to return to the playoffs with an improved performance. And so far, they look likely to do just that, given how well they have been playing recently. However, the question remains whether they can keep up their form.

USA Today via Reuters

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Can the Utah Jazz continue this incredible winning streak? Right now, the team looks solid on all fronts of the court and must try to keep moving forward. However, they haven’t faced a solid title contender as yet during the run. Their first big challenge could come against the LA Clippers next month. But if they can continue, they surely be a bigger threat in the West.

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Written by:

Aaditya Krishnamurthy

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Aaditya Krishnamurthy is an NBA & NFL journalist for EssentiallySports, before which he worked at BusinessWorld magazine. He has been a fan of Basketball for over 10 years now, since Shaquille O’Neal was a Phoenix Suns player. During his time at Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts, he started a sports magazine for the college called the Overtime Tribune and hosted the Overtime Tribune Podcast until he graduated.
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