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It was a tasty hors d'oeuvre. But if Rudy Gobert's return left you wanting a little more, the 7-foot Frenchman says the entrée should be right up.

Gobert played 15 minutes in his first action since spraining the MCL in his left knee in early December and afterward he said he expected a much bigger workload as soon as Saturday night, when the Jazz host the Miami Heat.

"This game was just to see how I was feeling," Gobert said after Thursday's 103-94 loss to the Rockets. "I feel great. I wasn't tired at all. Next game I'll probably play double the minutes."

That would be close to a full shift for Gobert, who was averaging roughly 34 minutes a game before the injury.

But could this be a case of a player with eyes bigger than his medial collateral ligament?

We'll soon see.

Jazz coach Quin Snyder was much more reserved in his postgame remarks when assessing how long Gobert might be under a minutes restriction, saying "gradually we'll get him back for an even longer period of time." But Gobert was already lobbying his coach for extra playing time on Thursday night. When he was coming out of the game for good in the second half, Gobert asked his coach for two more minutes on the floor.

"The doctor's not going to say anything," Gobert told him.

Snyder wasn't budging.

"If something were to ever happen to him during that time, I'd personally never forgive myself," Snyder said. "This is a long race. We've talked about that. It's about growth and experience and improvement. Two minutes is not going to be a thing that's going to impact that over the long term. It's going to be about him getting healthy."

It's been crystal clear over the past month that Gobert is key to the Jazz's long-term success. Utah managed a 7-11 record with the center on the sidelines, but the team's defense suffered without Gobert in the middle.

How much have the Jazz missed him?

"Tremendously," Snyder said with a smile. "… For us, he's unique in his value to our team because of what he's capable of doing on the defensive end."

"He's one of the best rim protectors in the league," Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. "His length, his size, but he's got great timing, too. You see some big guys, but they don't have the timing from the weak side to go over [and] challenge shots, change shots, block shots. He makes a big difference in what they do as far as protecting the paint."

Gobert didn't block a shot in his first game back, but he certainly made a quick impact.

"We were really excited to have him back," forward Gordon Hayward said. "We've been waiting a long time to have him back, and I thought he looked good out there when he was out there. I know it will still be a process. It's just good to see guys return."

It took less than a minute for the center to tip in his first bucket. In Gobert's 15 minutes on the court, the Jazz were nine points better than the Rockets. He finished with three rebounds and six points, including two on a highlight-reel dunk over Rockets rookie Montrezl Harrell that was missing only Gobert's celebratory salute.

"I'll save it for home," he said.

Gobert suffered a grade-2 MCL sprain on Dec. 2, when a teammate fell into his knee during practice. The injury has sidelined some for as long as eight weeks, but Gobert returned in just under five and he said he'd known for about a week that his return was imminent.

"Every day was getting a little bit better," he said. "I was working a little harder every day, a little more contact and more resistance. It was just about being ready to not think about it and just play."

How much Gobert will play Saturday in front of the fans in Salt Lake remains to be seen. And even Gobert, as eager to get back to work as anyone, had to recognize the big picture Thursday night.

"We have many games. We have hopefully a playoff coming. So it's a long project," he said.

And it's a project that the Jazz will need Gobert to anchor. The team has been decimated by injuries in recent weeks: Derrick Favors (back spasms), Alec Burks (fractured ankle) and Danté Exum (torn ACL) are all on the injury report. Now the status of Rodney Hood is uncertain after the shooting guard suffered an ankle injury Thursday.

Gobert knows the pain of injury, but has also been encouraged by the way the Jazz's fight.

"I think the guys, they stuck together. They battled every night. It was great for me to see it from the side. It was frustrating at times, but it was great to see them compete.

"Now I hope Rodney's OK and hope we're ready to make a run."

Twitter: @tribjazz —

Heat at Jazz

P At Vivint Smart Home Arena

Tipoff • Saturday, 7 p.m.

TV • ROOT

Radio • 1280 AM, 97.5 FM

About the Jazz • Have lost three straight games this week, including two to the Houston Rockets. … Shooting guard Rodney Hood did not return to Thursday's game after injuring his right ankle in the third quarter. … Lost to the Heat earlier this year in Miami while playing without center Rudy Gobert.

About the Heat • Will be playing the second night of a back-to-back after taking on the Suns on Friday night in Phoenix. … Shooting guard Dwyane Wade is averaging better than 18 points a game. … Forward Chris Bosh scored 25 points to beat the Jazz in November.