Jazz at Rudy Gobert's Timberwolves: 5 Things to Look For

The Utah Jazz will take center stage Friday night as they travel to Minneapolis to take on ex-fan favorite Rudy Gobert and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

What should fans expect in this clash of teams that will forever be linked together in this year's summer blockbuster trade? Let’s dive in and take a look.

All Eyes on Rudy

It will be strange for fans to see Gobert play against the team that drafted him in 2013, but the awkwardness will be mutual. Gobert addressed the issue with Jon Krawcynski of The Athletic.

“It’s definitely going to be weird,” Gobert told Krawczynski. “Those jerseys are a little different but it’s still going to be weird to play against someone with Utah on them. Even though Quin [Snyder] is not there anymore, it’s still going to be fun. It’s going to be fun, and you know it’s all love for me. I want to see these guys succeed and I’m sure they want to see me succeed, too.”

Gobert has never had issues bringing energy to the court, but fans should expect the three-time defensive player of the year to bring a little more fire to the arena compared to what we’re accustomed to.

Small Ball

Gobert can absolutely wreck a game if he's allowed to hang around the key and protect the rim. Knowing that, it will be interesting to see if Jazz head coach Will Hardy will use a small-ball lineup to combat what Gobert’s does best.

This might mean less of Walker Kessler and Jarred Vanderbilt and more of Laurie Markannen and Kelly Olynyk when Gobert is on the court. Jazz fans know all too well that Gobert’s kryptonite is having five capable three-point shooters on the court at the same time.

Do the Jazz have the personnel to make that happen without sacrificing too much on the defensive end?

Collin Sexton's Minute Increase

Sexton stood out in Wednesday night's commanding victory over the Denver Nuggets. The 6-foot-1 point guard came off the bench to score 20 points in just 21 minutes of action.

It’s clear that Sexton needs to be on the floor more, but it will have to be at the expense of starting point guard Mike Conley. We’ll see if coach ill Hardy is ready to let Sexton be a bigger part of the rotation, or should we expect Conley to be at 30-plus minutes per game.

Are Jazz Too Good to Tank?

Nobody expected Utah to blow out the Nuggets in the home opener. Now, the question on everybody’s mind is, was this an anomaly, or has Utah accumulated enough good role players to win 30-40 games this year?

Playing on the road against a team projected to be a top-four seed in the West will put this young group to the test. Getting a win would be great, but let’s see if the Jazz can give the T-Wolves a run for their money and show the NBA that this squad might be too good to tank.

Beasley & Vanderbilt Return to the Minny

Let’s not forget Beasley and Vanderbilt were part of the Gobert trade as well, and will be on a revenge quest when they visit their old stomping grounds. Against Denver, Vanderbilt had 12 rebounds in the first half, and Beasley chipped in 15 points in 26 minutes of action.

Can they ride the emotions of returning to a place that didn’t think they were good enough to take their team to the next level, and bring home a Jazz victory?

Tip-off is at 6:00 pm Friday night.

Follow Patrick on Twitter @pbyrnesNBA.

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