The Utah Jazz are Built to Survive the Loss of Rudy Gobert

Seconds into their first playoff game against the Clippers, the Utah Jazz suffered a brutal setback. Rudy Gobert, their best defender, and quite possibly their best player (depending on how you feel about Gordon Hayward), suffered a knee injury, which kept him out for the remainder of the game, and will also sideline him for at least game 2. The Jazz eked out a close 97-95 win despite the loss of the Stifle Tower, with Joe Johnson hitting a buzzer-beater that reminded us of his Iso-Joe heyday. That win proved that the Jazz aren't entirely sunk without Gobert's services, but do they have enough in the tank to win an entire series without their should-have-been-an-All-Star center?

Well, they might not have to. While Gobert has been ruled out for Tuesday's game in Los Angeles, his status beyond that is unclear, and he could return sooner than later. Losing a player as talented as Gobert is tough, and the Jazz will have a hard time making up for his massive defensive presence, but they are far from doomed. Utah sports one of the most well-assembled rosters in the NBA and Saturday's win showed that they can contend with the Clippers even without a vital talent like Gobert. The Jazz won't be able to completely account for everything Gobert gives them, but they have the depth and talent to ensure his injury is not a death sentence.

As we saw on Saturday, Joe Johnson still has some magic left in his game. He's not quite the same guy who became Seven-Time All-Star Joe Johnson, but he's still a quality scorer, and his reputation for coming through in big moments was thoroughly confirmed in Game 1. Johnson, along with fellow playoff veterans George Hill and Boris Diaw, can offer a calming presence to the team's younger players as they face the madness of playoff basketball for the first time. Additionally, veteran bench guy Joe Ingles—who played 33 minutes in Game 1—is a solid three-and-D guy who can quietly pick up some of the defensive slack.

The strength of the roster also added to Utah's resilience throughout the season. While Gobert only missed one game, Utah still won 51 games despite nearly every other essential Jazz player missing a significant amount of time. George Hill missed 33 games due to injuries this season, while Rodney Hood and Derrick Favors missed 23 and 32, respectively. Even Hayward was out for nine games, including the first six of the season. The Jazz have essentially been operating below full strength all season, and their deep roster has allowed them to survive. This team has thrived while short-handed all season long, and it's reasonable to think they can keep it going.

None of this is to say the Jazz aren't facing any adversity here. They lost probably the best defensive big man in the game, and they're going against the duo of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, who can be devastating. That's not an easy thing to overcome. Still, there's plenty of reason for optimism. Gobert could potentially return before the series is over, and in the meantime, the Jazz have an impressive complement of players who can fill the void. Seeing a budding star like Gobert go down one play into his first playoff game is undoubtedly a bummer, but it doesn't have to end what has been the best Jazz season in years.