Despite officially clinching a playoff berth, not everything is smooth sailing for the Utah Jazz. After Rudy Gobert spoke up about the team’s lack of “competitiveness’ something had to be done to smooth things over. According to Andy Larsen of KSL-Salt Lake, Gobert confirmed the team meeting following the harsh criticism.
The comments from the French center comes on the heels of a disappointing loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, who are only one game behind Utah in the standings. Initially, it seemed like Gobert was targeting specific players and calling them out, but he quickly says that is not the case. “It was more about the team, it wasn’t targeting somebody in particular,” Gobert tells KSL. “It was more about the team. Maybe I didn’t choose the best words, made it look like I was picking on people, it was more about the attitude as a team.”
“We had a team meeting. We discussed everything,” Gobert said. “I think it was good to talk to each other, and it’s never going to be perfect, but it’s great to communicate as a team.” Gobert knows that his method to light a fire under some players did not go as planned. “It maybe wasn’t the best way to do it, but it was just about winning. I was just frustrated after the game. It was just about us as a team. I just want to win, and that’s it. I want us to be better as a team.”
Quin Snyder agrees with Gobert in regard to how he should have gone about this differently. “I think you have to be conscious of how and when you say things, which is important in order for them to be effective,” Snyder says to KSL. “One of the challenges about being part of a team is being able to put yourself in other people’s shoes. That means that everybody on the team, every teammate has to understand how another player feels, and have empathy for them. That’s how you’re able to help.”
Snyder is doing a great job with this team, but creating a distraction with the playoffs just weeks away is less than ideal. The Jazz are a good basketball team and have a great chance of making some noise in the playoffs. Their defensive-minded play makes them difficult to gameplay and score against. Couple that with the All-Star season from Gordon Hayward and a strong year from Gobert, the Jazz may be a dangerous team.
