Utah Jazz notes: Rudy Gobert making most of his minutes

Toronto • The brightest spot on an otherwise forgettable night was also the biggest.

As the Jazz got trampled 97-73 Friday night in Chicago, 7-foot-2 center Rudy Gobert provided the silver lining, pulling down a dozen rebounds in 16 minutes.

With veteran big man Andris Biedrins sidelined by an ankle injury, the rookie Gobert has taken advantage of his opportunity to play as the third big in coach Ty Corbin's rotation.

"The way he works every day in practice, you see his focus and determination to get better," Corbin said. "When he makes a mistake, he really beats himself up because he don't want to make mistakes. It's part of growing and I really appreciate his focus and his effort every night. He'll continue to get better because he's going to push himself."

Gobert will have to beat himself up over the 2-for-6 shooting from the free-throw line. But in his first season in the NBA after playing in France, Gobert said he's adjusting.

"I feel better," he said. "The speed of the game is better for me."

Gobert was particularly pleased with limiting his foul trouble Friday. He had just one. "I'm getting better, trying to jump with two arms straight in the restricted area," he said.

Going in reverse

How bad have things been for the Jazz?

At one point, they were going in reverse.

In the second quarter Friday night in Chicago, Bulls forward Carlos Boozer committed a foul and Enes Kanter stepped to the line, hitting a pair of free throws.

One problem: Boozer had actually fouled Derrick Favors as he tried for rebound. The error was not noticed until sometime later. Two points were taken off the board and Favors was sent to the line for his free throws.

"It's just one of those things, man," Corbin said. "It seems like when you're in a funk, things like that continue to happen to you. I thought Derrick was very poised to step up and make the shots and get the two points back, which we needed. We need all the points we can get."

Discomfort

Brandon Rush sat out Saturday's game in Toronto, his second game in a row after making his debut against the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday.

"He just didn't feel comfortable last night and tonight the same thing. So we'll look at him. We'll give him another day here and revisit when we get home tomorrow," Corbin said.

afalk@sltrib.com

Twitter: @tribjazz