Jazz get much needed win against the Pistons

The Utah Jazz got a much-needed win against the Detroit Pistons, 111-101.

It was starting to feel like Groundhog Day again. The Jazz, who were without Donovan Mitchell again, got out to a lead in the first half only to see the lead slip away in the third, but unlike the last couple of weeks, they were able to get stops on the defensive end and make plays on offense.

There were some welcome sights in this one. Jordan Clarkson had a nice night with 20 points shooting 8/17 from the field and 3/5 from three. Clarkson also played with intensity on the defensive end. When Clarkson is giving effort on the defensive end and is scoring efficiently on offense, he shows why he can be such a potent weapon. More consistency like this for Clarkson would go a long way for the Jazz to get back to winning.

Rudy Gobert was also dominant in this on. Before the game Gobert was questionable to start but you wouldn’t have known from his play. Gobert had 24 points and 14 rebounds while shooting 8/11 from the field. At the end of the game Gobert had some fantastic defensive plays including some high level close outs that stifled plays for the Pistons.

We also saw another great night for Bojan Bogdanovic. Bogdanovic had 23 points shooting 7/15 from the field and 3/6 from the three. Bogdanovic has been really impressive for the last 6 weeks and looking like an elite NBA scorer again. His ability to score is going to help the Jazz in a big way if he can keep this up into the playoffs. If the Jazz can get a defensive effort like they did tonight, there’s no reason to think they can’t get wins.

Speaking of defensive effort, we saw some Eric Paschall minutes! Before the game, Quin made arguably the quote of the season.

It’s honestly a hilarious quote. It feels like an HR department talking about an entry-level employee that has outperformed expectations and might get a promotion.

How did Paschall do? Pachall played with big energy, staying in front of his man and rebounding the ball. His energy is infectious. Paschall shared the floor with Trent Forrest, Jordan Clarkson and Royce O’Neale for some large streatches. Each of those guys ranged from a plus/minus of +15 to +19. It was cool to see the Jazz have a lineup that had 3 plus perimeter defenders and it made a huge difference. Combining that defense with Clarkson’s offense and it was a major reason the Jazz came out on top.

It’s a win against the Pistons but it was a win the Jazz desperately needed, and they’ll take it.