Jazz looking for momentum as they head to Atlanta

When given one of the most important facts of the season, Utah Jazz rookie shooting guard Donovan Mitchell gave a long pause. And then his eyes got wide. And then, he stammered, seemingly in disbelief.

The Jazz haven’t won consecutive games since Dec. 4, when they defeated the Washington Wizards 116-69 at Vivint Smart Home Arena. That’s almost two months without a winning streak. That’s almost two months without any positive momentum in a season that’s been frustrating on multiple fronts.

But as he’s done on the floor all season, Mitchell collected himself before letting go of a slight chuckle. He digested the fact, and then, almost instantly, he was able to let it go.

“The way to turn that around is to not look at stats like that,” Mitchell said. “And then, as a team, we just have to stay positive. We can’t look at any team lightly. We have to take things day-by-day. If we can do that, then we have a chance to be in great shape.”

Of course, there are mitigating factors for Utah’s prolonged struggles. Much has been made of the schedule, which has been one of the most difficult in the league. And Rudy Gobert’s injury struggles have surely contributed.

But the Jazz simply haven’t played well in this stretch, something that’s been well documented. They hope they’ve turned a corner after Saturday’s 125-113 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Utah registered one of its best offensive performances of the season against Los Angeles.

It’s consistency that it craves, however.

“We have to keep doing what we did against the Clippers,” Jazz forward Derrick Favors said. “I think we’ve played a lot better in the last few games, so we just have to find a way to get that consistency.”

Monday night’s matchup in Atlanta against the Hawks represents Utah’s best chance to date of winning consecutive games. Atlanta’s 13-32 on the season, and just 9-13 on its home floor.

At the same time, the Hawks haven’t been pushovers in recent weeks. They’ve won two of their last three games, and the wins are over the San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans. They’ve also beaten the Denver Nuggets on the road of late.

So, if the Jazz are to start their first winning streak since before Christmas, they know they are going to have to earn it.

An obvious impact

Gobert, when he returned from his first injury in December, didn’t look like himself. He wasn’t as explosive as normal. He wasn’t finishing at the basket like normal, and he seemed a bit off.

That hasn’t been the case in his latest return. On Friday night in limited minutes, Gobert scored 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds against the New York Knicks. On Saturday night, he scored 16 points, while grabbing seven rebounds and blocking three shots.

His conditioning seems normal, which could be the product of the Jazz putting him through fullcourt one-on-one drills before his return. He seems confident in the leg he injured as well.

“I feel good, so I’m happy about that,” Gobert said. “We just have to keep getting better and keep the right mindset. We want to be able to play with force.”

Will he be back?

Jazz shooting guard Rodney Hood is listed as questionable for Monday night’s matchup against the Hawks. He sat out of the win against the Clippers with a lower leg contusion, with Joe Ingles scoring a season-high 21 points to make up for his absence.

If Hood does play, Jazz coach Quin Snyder will have to make a decision on putting him in the starting lineup. Hood scored 18 points as a starter against the Knicks. Ingles was the starter on Saturday.

Standout performance

Alec Burks came off the bench Saturday to score 15 points. It was his best scoring game since dropping 20 points against the Milwaukee Bucks on Dec. 9. Burks has been out of Snyder’s rotation of late. He hadn’t played regular rotation minutes since a 103-102 loss against the Miami Heat on Jan. 7.