Rudy Gobert compares the situation of the Jazz to that of the… Bucks | NBA

The struggle may be more and more intense and the candidates more and more numerous, Rudy Gobert wants to believe in the chances of the Jazz to get involved in the fight for the title in the playoffs. The final stages showed, on several levels, that the status and the course in the regular season were not everything.

This is how Phoenix thwarted all the traps on its way to the West and how Milwaukee did the same in the East, notably by leaving Brooklyn, to win the second title in its history, fifty years after the first. .

“No one believed they could do something until they did it”

The Bucks’ story is inspiring for the rest of the league, and especially for Rudy Gobert who sees similarities with his Utah team, a potential that is just waiting to explode over the playoff rounds.

“We are the Milwaukee Bucks”, said the French pivot aside from the All-Star Game. “No one believed they could do something until they did it. We have the group for, and the level of talent it takes. What we went through as a band, it helped us grow. So, yes, I’m excited for the second half of the season, and we’re ready to leap forward.”

The countdown has already started since the playoffs will begin in less than two months. The latest arrivals have joined their respective teams since February 10, with Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Danuel House Jr. and Juancho Hernangomez as reinforcements on the Jazz side. Now all that remains is to take advantage of the end of the regular season to gain momentum and adopt “good habits”, as Rudy Gobert points out.

“We must continue to work to improve each other”he added. “We have to keep working and learning good habits because that’s what will take us from a good team to a great team. We have to strengthen our defense and enjoy every game. In our heads, we have to tell ourselves that we are capable of accomplishing everything we try to do. We have the talent to beat anyone. So it’s about getting into the habit.”

“March is going to be an important month. It’s an important month because it’s almost the end of our season.”

Unlike last season, where the Jazz arrived strong from an exceptional regular season, ending in first place, Utah experienced a big slump in January (12 losses in 17 games). A bad pass from which Quin Snyder’s men were able to recover with six straight victories, and which may be beneficial in the heart of the action during the final stages, when the Jazzmen may find themselves mistreated again.

In any case, with the frustrating experiences of recent seasons, Rudy Gobert has good reason to believe that his team will arrive more ready than ever. The final ranking will be important, but the dynamic with which Utah will start these playoffs will be just as important.

“Injuries, Donovan (Mitchell) or me missing games, that’s just part of the stuff we had to go through. Our team needed adversity to learn, to get back to basics and rebuild good habits.”he recalled. “March is going to be an important month. It’s an important month because it’s almost the end of our season. We want to keep improving and learning.”