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Houston • Rudy Gobert's defensive prowess in the paint might make opposing coaches want to pull out their hair.
The Utah Jazz center, however, has chosen to have a little bit less of his own hair these days — and the meaning behind the swirling design shaved atop the 7-footer's dome has created a few theories in the Jazz locker room.
"Some of the guys were saying it's the initials for his secret girlfriend," Gordon Hayward said.
That's the explanation Joe Ingles was selling at the team's shootaround Wednesday morning.
"It's a girl that he likes. It's her initials," the forward said, sitting a few chairs away from Gobert inside Toyota Center. "It's 100 percent a girl that he likes. … It's the initials of his future fiancee."
The theory made Gobert smirk.
"I don't know her name," the 24-year-old said. "That's why I do random stuff."
Gobert confirmed the work was that of a professional. "No, I don't do it [myself]. It would be worse than that," he said. But the center remained mum about the design's true meaning.
"They try to find out, but they don't," Gobert said.
The closest he would come to an explanation?
"It's magic," he said.
That would fit more in line with Boris Diaw's theory: Gobert's 'do is an homage to Harry Potter.
On one leg
Derrick Favors hasn't quite been himself this season.
So this week, when a writer pointed out on Twitter that no player in the league had been blocked on dunks more this season (5 times) than Favors, the Utah Jazz forward had a reply.
"[C]an't wait to see what happens when I'm not playing on one leg," Favors wrote.
The Jazz would very much like Favors to get to that point, and as soon as possible. On Wednesday against the Rockets, the power forward sat out with soreness in his right knee.
"We've been conscious of managing his minutes this season to keep him on the right track to improving his health," Jazz head coach Quin Snyder said, attributing Favors' latest absence to "usage."
"He had a little soreness the other night [in Sacramento] and he played through it," Snyder said.
Jazz point guards George Hill (sore big toe) and Shelvin Mack (sprained ankle) also missed Wednesday's game.
Twitter: @aaronfalk