SALT LAKE CITY — This week in addition to sending me questions I asked for everyone to send me their favorite moments from this season and you delivered.
So, instead of answering questions, I thought we’d revisit some of the great moments or the things that you’re missing the most from Utah Jazz basketball.
While this person brings up a lot of good points I want to focus in on one specific memory, and that’s Rudy Gobert playing well in the NBA All-Star Game.
If you’re feeling like you need a pick-me-up, just go watch Gobert’s scoring plays for Team Giannis and you’ll feel better.
So many putbacks and easy buckets but also there were numerous alley-oops, including one from Trae Young at the end of the third period, to tie things up, with barely any time on the clock. It’s as good an oop as you’ll get and it was done by Gobert en route to a 21-point, 11-rebound double-double in his All-Star debut.
To be totally honest, there are very few things that are more enjoyable than watching a grown man cringe and run because he’s had cold water sprayed onto him when he didn’t expect it.
It makes the Utah Jazz television walk-off interviews that much more enjoyable. Shout out to my girl Kristen Kenney who is always in the line of fire, and thanks to Ashleigh for writing in to remind of us of the funny moments we miss.
Basketball isn’t always about plays during the course of a game. There’s so much more to enjoy, and this camaraderie is something that we shouldn’t take for granted.
Nolan wrote in to remind us that Jordan Clarkson has absolutely been a blessing for the Jazz since he walked onto the scene. Since joining the Jazz this season, Clarkson has averaged 15.6 points per game and is shooting 36.6 percent from 3-point range.
Remember when Clarkson scored 37 points in a loss to the Nuggets in Denver. It was the third game of a four-game trip and the second night of a back-to-back. So many things weren’t working during that game, and it was pretty much a scheduled loss, but Clarkson showed some other-worldly stuff doing absolutely everything he could to try to get the Jazz that win.
Even though it ended in a loss, that night was a good sign of things to come from the Jazz’s newest Swiss army knife off the bench.
The thing that people wrote in to me about the most over the last couple days was without a doubt Bojan Bogdanovic buzzer beaters.
Let’s just discuss the most recent one.
The Jazz are down by two, 113-111, to the Houston Rockets with 1.6 seconds left to play. Just enough time for a inbounds play and to get a shot off.
Bogdanovic was not having a good night. To that point he was 1-of-6, and he didn’t hit a shot at all in the first three quarters.
In most people’s minds Bogey had no business taking the last shot. He was off. But for the Jazz, they never doubted him (or so they said).
Bogdanovic gets free and rolls over a screen to the top of the arc and gets the inbound from Joe Ingles and with two men guarding him he puts up a shot that goes in as the buzzer sounds. Jazz win, 114-113.
It was an incredible end to a hard-fought game and the winning shot was made by a player who although he was not having the best night, the Jazz knew well enough to trust him to be on the floor and to let it fly in the clutch.
This is a weird time for all of us in a world without sports, so I hope this won’t be the only time we can share in each other’s favorite moments.
If you would like to have your question answered, you can send it to me at stodd@deseretnews.com with “mailbag” in the subject line, or you can send it to me via Twitter @NBASarah with the hashtag #SundayJazzMailBag. You can also share your favorite Jazz memories from this season or seasons past using the same information.