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Charlotte, N.C. • Utah Jazz rookies Rudy Gobert and Ian Clark are expected to be back with the team Saturday night after a three-game stint in the NBA Development League.
In search of playing time for the two, Utah sent Gobert and Clark to the Bakersfield Jam on Dec. 14. In three games with the team, all starts, Clark averaged 12.3 points, 3 rebounds and 4.3 assists. Gobert averaged 14 points, 13 rebounds and 4.3 blocks.
"They did a great job, got some time on the floor to play and we're happy to have them back," said Jazz coach Ty Corbin, adding that he hoped the D-League's European-style goaltending rules "don't throw [Gobert] off some."
The Jam are currently on a weeklong break, and Corbin said the franchise will take a wait-and-see approach on future reassignments.
"We'll see how the schedule develops," he said. "We'll see how much time we can get them here. But it's always good for young guys to play."
Gobert, one of Utah's two first-round picks in June, suited up against Charlotte.
Clark, an undrafted free agent signing, and forward Mike Harris were inactive.
Getting back up
Both Gordon Hayward and Jeremy Evans were OK to play for the Jazz on Saturday, a day after taking hard falls in Atlanta.
Hayward collided with Atlanta's Jeff Teague in the third quarter of Friday's game. The Jazz swingman stayed on the ground for a while before getting up slowly, talking with trainer Gary Briggs, and returning to play.
"It was just the wind knocked out of me," Hayward said afterward. "I was looking at the ball and got hit right in my chest and landed on my back. … It was like a receiver going across the middle of the field. That's why I don't play football, right there."
Return to Buzz City
Friday marked the last time the Jazz will travel east to face the Charlotte Bobcats. Beginning next year, the team will be called the Charlotte Hornets, the name of the city's franchise from 1988 until it moved to New Orleans in 2002. Bobcats chairman Michael Jordan unveiled the team's new logo at halftime of Saturday's game.
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