Jazz center Rudy Gobert says that there are “a lot of things” that bother him about the end of Utah’s season after he was flamed by fans following a lackluster defensive effort in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Los Angeles Clippers.
“Obviously we had higher expectations than losing in the second round. Losing 4 in a row is something we didn’t do during the season,” he said after the game. “You try to ask yourself the right questions about what we can do so it stops happening.”
When asked his thoughts on how the season ended, he said he needed “to clear my mind, because there’s a lot of things that bother me.”
Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images
After taking a 2-0 series lead, the Jazz dropped their next four games in a row to be eliminated from the playoffs. Despite the Jazz taking a 25-point lead during the game, and the Clippers playing without Kawaii Leonard, Utah gave up 39 points to Terrance Mann and lost 131-119.
“It takes a team effort, it takes five guys to defend,” Gobert explained. “Everyone on their team raised their level, and it was hard for us to guard them. … Defensively, they were doing a better job than we did with the weapons they had.”
He continued: “The problem is if I don’t come and help, we give up layups. … The gameplan was for us to let Terance Mann shoot rather than letting Reggie Jackson or PG get layups. We tried to adjust with full rotations. They played perfectly on almost every possession.”
The Clippers will take on the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Finals.
[Via]