The Utah Jazz are taking on the Detroit Pistons hoping to get the team moving in the right direction again. But because of a handful of players now in covid protocols that’s looking more difficult.

Rudy Gobert is the big name here that will be missing again. It’s clear the Jazz miss his presence on both ends of the floor. Missing Rudy Gay is also tough as he has been a solid presence for the Jazzz since his debut earlier this year.

But there’s no use crying over spilt milk and these games are chances for other players on the team to show their impact. Donovan Mitchell in the Jazz’s last game showed up big with 36 points and 9 assists. But it wasn’t enough to get the win.

Hassan Whiteside in the last game really struggled. Whether it was from recovery from his concussion, or something else, his impact wasn’t very good. Jordan Clarkson also struggled. He was a team leading -30 and really nose-dived a lot of offensive possesions for the Jazz. Considering Clarkson isn’t a very good overall defender, it’s difficult when he has a performance like that to win, especially without Rudy Gobert.

The Pistons are not a very good team this year but they do have some impressive young talent. Cade Cunningham hasn’t been as flashy as the other young rookies in the league like Evan Mobley and Franz Wagner, but he’s been solid and putting up good overall numbers. The Pistons also have a really promising role player in Saddiq Bey who is shooting it really well. Even Hamidou Diallo has appeared to take a step this year. Moral of this story? This is no gimme. If the Jazz come into this game with the same lackadaisical attitude this is a very losable game. They really need to show they can win in other ways than depending so much on Gobert’s defense and Donovan Mitchell’s offense.

Game Info

When: 5:00 PM MT

Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI

TV: AT&T ATTSN-RM, BSDET

Radio: KZNS/KTUB, WXYT