Advantage Utah? Jazz's Derrick Favors "100 percent" back
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) When Derrick Favors can find ways to impose his will, good things happen for the Utah Jazz.
Favors has been quietly, albeit effectively, getting it done against the Oklahoma City Thunder, playing in the shadows of Utah rookie of the year candidate Donovan Mitchell and Jazz center Rudy Gobert.
But a healthy Favors is making an impact.
The Jazz have returned to Utah with the series tied 1-1, thanks in no small part to Favors. He tallied career playoff highs of 20 points and 16 rebounds in Utah's 102-95 road win on Wednesday.
Jazz coach Quin Snyder will start Favors at power forward alongside Gobert beginning with Game 3 on Saturday. But he will also utilize him as a backup center to spell Gobert. Favors has done his part to make playing alongside Gobert work by extending his shooting range to improve offensive spacing. He has also made himself an effective roller.
''He's always been a good pick-and-roll player, regardless of `position,''' Snyder said. ''We've never really thought of him as one position or the other. We've thought of him as a basketball player and tried to have him understand his strengths and then play to his strengths.''
Indeed. In the first two playoff games against the Thunder, Favors is averaging 13.5 points on 52 percent shooting and 10.5 rebounds.
It is exactly the type of impact Favors envisioned making when fighting to reclaim his body from knee and back injuries that afflicted him for the better part of two seasons.
''I'm back to being 100 percent,'' Favors said. ''Back healthy. Back moving the way I know I can move and playing the way I know I can play. It's a big advantage for us.''
There's no question having Favors at full strength has improved Utah's ability to counter a Thunder team featuring the potent trio of Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony and Paul George. The veteran forward/center offers versatility on both ends of the court honed through playing multiple positions as circumstances dictate.
Crashing the boards definitely tops the list when checking off Favors' strengths. He ranks second on the Jazz roster in rebounding behind Gobert with 7.2 rebounds per game.
When Favors is active on the glass, it can change the direction of a game for Utah. In Game 2 against Oklahoma City, he grabbed eight offensive rebounds through the first 2 1/2 quarters. By contrast, the Thunder totaled six offensive boards as a team in the same stretch.
''His length and his strength allow him to get his hands on balls,'' Snyder said. ''He's got such good hands that even when he keeps the ball alive, usually something good happens.''
Favors' willingness to go full throttle around the basket has turned him into a reliable complimentary player on offense. He rolls to the basket with consistency and, more often than not, it pays off for him.
It has turned Favors into a legitimate offensive presence again. He averaged 9.5 points on 48.7 percent shooting while limited to 50 games a year ago. This season, Favors is scoring 12.3 points per game while shooting 56.3 percent from the floor.
''Other teams and other opponents, they look and see I'm 6-foot-10 and think I'm a 5 man or whatever, so they try to take advantage of it,'' Favors said. ''It just feels good to be able to go out there and move the way that I know that I can move and be able to play the way I know that I can play and teams can't take advantage of it.''
Favors is focused on staying aggressive as the series with the Thunder shifts to Utah. He is having fun playing basketball again and wants to make sure Oklahoma City continues to feel his presence on both ends of the court.
His teammates certainly do and they understand what a difference it can potentially make as the Jazz battle to keep going in the postseason.
''He's been like that all year,'' Mitchell said, ''but he's definitely turned it up with what he can do.''
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