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The Utah Jazz can’t score. That was once again confirmed as they went 1-2 last week, even before the embarrassment against the Timberwolves last night. A late run against the Philadelphia 76ers made that game look a lot better than it was, and the Miami Heat closed out the Jazz on a 13-0 run to take that game. The win over the Brooklyn Nets was nice, especially for Derrick Favors, but it wasn’t enough to save the Jazz in this week’s power rankings. Utah is now in the 20’s across the board with the exception of FiveThirtyEight, whose models are still fairly high on this squad. With Utah looking at an extended absence of Rudy Gobert, these Power Rankings seem to be reflecting that.
How the Utah Jazz were ranked.
| Publication | Preseason | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publication | Preseason | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 |
| ESPN.com | 12 | 11 | 18 | 13 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 15 | 16 | 18 |
| CBS Sports | 18 | 18 | 21 | 12 | 23 | 22 | 17 | 11 | 13 | 18 |
| SI.com | 18 | 15 | 18 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 21 | 15 | 18 | 20 |
| NBA.com | 12 | 9 | 14 | 14 | 20 | 23 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 17 |
| Rotoworld | - | 11 | 18 | 17 | 22 | 20 | 19 | 16 | 17 | 19 |
| USA Today | - | 13 | 17 | 14 | 20 | 17 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 10 |
| FiveThirtyEight | 9 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 9 | 10 | 9 |
| SLC Dunk | - | 10 | 15 | 15 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 10 | 12 | 15 |
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ESPN.com
Rudy Gobert's injury could spell doom for the Jazz, who already faced somewhat of an uphill battle. Prior to the injury, BPI gave Utah just a 13 percent chance to make the playoffs thanks in part to the NBA's second-hardest remaining schedule. The timing of Gobert's injury couldn't be much worse either as Utah's December schedule is the hardest any team will face in any month this season, according to BPI. -- Micah Adams
CBS Sports
Utah might be bad. They just can't score points and with Rudy Gobert out for a few weeks their elite defense will likely take a dip.
SI.com
With Rudy Gobert shelved for at least a month, the Jazz could fall out of the playoff picture quickly in the West. If Gobert heals slowly, does Utah embrace the tank?
NBA.com
It's crisis time for the Jazz. Derrick Favors' biggest game of the season (24 points and 12 rebounds against Brooklyn on Saturday) in Rudy Gobert's absence ended a four-game losing streak that dropped them two games below .500. But Gobert is going to be out at least another four weeks and after they host the Wolves on Monday, the Jazz will play 12 of their next 18 games on the road, where they're 0-4 so far. In 29 minutes with Ricky Rubio and Donovan Mitchell (the new starter at shooting guard) on the floor together over the weekend, the Jazz had nine assists and 18 turnovers. Not only does Rubio have the highest turnover rate of his career (by a wide margin)and the fourth highest among 126 guards who have played at least 15 minutes per game, but he's shot a brutal 27 percent over his last five games.
Rotoworld
Utah received devastating news over the weekend when it was announced that Rudy Gobert is expected to miss the next 4-6 weeks of action with a bone bruise in his right knee. Gobert’s defensive dominance and offensive efficiency are incredibly difficult to replace. The Jazz will merely attempt to keep their heads above water before Rudy is ready to return. The schedule doesn’t do Utah any favors. They host the Timberwolves on Monday and then embark on a four-game East Coast road trip.
SLC Dunk
This team is in trouble. I can’t justify putting them any higher than 22. The offense is inconsistent, at best, and the defense can only make up for that for so long. Without Rudy for the next month, let’s just say I’m feeling pretty tank-y.