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PnB Mailbag: Should Utah Jazz Go All In On Rudy Gobert?

Welcome to the PnB Mailbag: Edition No. 6. My coffee mug is filled to the brim, my mind is racing and my fingers are properly stretched and ready to fire. Have a question you’ve been itching to get off your mind? Hit me up on Twitter.

Today, we’ll be covering going all in on Rudy Gobert, Jazz fans’ expectations, Alec Burks running point and more.

With all the hype surrounding Rudy Gobert, I’m excited to see if he’s the real deal considering a good second half of last year’s season. Can he pick up where he left off? Is he the real deal? Is he ready to make a BIG difference for this year’s Jazz? Is it too early to push all chips in on 27 blue? – Richard Knapp 

Getting your money’s worth on this, aren’t you, Rich? Okay, I’ll go down the list.

Can he pick up where he left off?
Damn straight he can. Though, I think Quin Snyder and the rest of the coaching staff need to careful about his preseason minutes. Rudy just came off one hell of a summer playing for France and he hasn’t looked as dominant this preseason as he did last year.

I think some good, old-fashion rest and relaxation will result in Rudy Gobert swatting shots into the sixth row and Hulk-smashing dunks come opening night.

Is he the real deal?
YES YES YES YES YES YES YES. Rudy has experienced an unprecedented rise. Furthermore, his sample size is big enough to assume it’s sustainable.

Is he ready to make a BIG difference for this year’s Jazz?
I would bet my first unborn child on this. I’ve been impressed with Rudy’s motivation and dedication since the jump. This is a kid who wants to succeed at the highest level. He wants to be an All-Star. He wants to be the Defensive Player of the Year. He wants to bully other players while simultaneously ripping out the hearts of entire teams. And most importantly, he wants to win.

Watch Rudy play for two or three quarters and you’ll see the fire he has in his heart.

Is it too early to push all chips in on 27 blue?
No. Barring some sort of catastrophic injury, Rudy’s only going to get better. He’s nowhere near the area code of sniffing his prime. Buy his stock now; it’s only going to rise in price.

I think the Jazz will have a great year, however I wonder what the Jazz fans are going to do when we are .500 at the All-Star break ? I think we need to have some patience with the team this year and temper our expectations.

Your thoughts on fan expectations? – Dax Kiger

I think you have a valid point, Dax. The Jazz are still young and have been put in a bit of a pickle with losing Dante Exum—as much as he’s a work in progress, the Jazz are going to miss his length and defense.

The Western Conference is a gauntlet, mixed with a beast, spliced with the final level of American Ninja Warrior. So that’s not going to do the Jazz any favors either.

The Jazz have added some new players in Trey Lyles, Raul Neto and Tibor Pleiß. It’s going to take a minute for all three to build chemistry with their teammates, learn the offense and get adjusted to the NBA game. The core guys and starters will be solid, in my very humble opinion.

When going through the first half of the season, I predicted 24 wins. The Jazz will inevitably lose a few games they should win, while stealing others against better teams. So I feel confident that their win total should be around there. If the Jazz can keep up that pace, they’ll net out at around 47-48 wins. That should be good enough for a playoff spot.

All in all, I think the Jazz are going to be a damn good team that will win more games than they lose. But to your point, there will be some toe-stubbing moments and this team still has plenty of room to grow. With that, patience is a virtue all Jazz fans should practice.

Does the Jazz offense allow for Alec Burks to run point if needed? Can he create for others or does he play best off the ball? – Teddy Coen

Absolutely. And I think Alec Burks playing point guard is something we’re going to see a lot of this year, based on preseason lineups—I actually covered this in my last column.

"The Jazz point guard situation is a work in progress at best. Last night, with a traditional point guard playing—Trey Burke and Raul Neto—the Jazz were minus-13. With the triple wing, the Jazz were plus-six. Moreover, throughout the preseason the Jazz are plus-12 with the triple wing and minus-35 with a point guard on the floor."

Also,

"Alec was sorely missed last season as he recovered from a torn labrum, and he’s going to have an enormous impact on how his team plays this year. His ability to push the ball, get into the lane, draw fouls and generally make plays are all huge assets. He’s absolutely shined these first four games."
"Burks also adds a new level of pace to the offense. He’s able to switch gears and put defenders—and entire teams—on their heels. This is going to take some getting used to—remember the Jazz were dead last in pace of play last year— but it’s a weapon that’s going to make the Jazz that much more dangerous."

Alec does his best work with the ball in his hand. If he can improve his distributing instead of focusing solely on getting buckets, then I think he has the makings of a solid, de-facto point guard—especially in Quin Snyder’s “positionless,” motion-based, flex offense.

Work your a** off every second; make insane buzzer-beating volleyball shots; embrace the junkyard dog/lunch pail mentality; play with ruthless, reckless abandon every time you step on the court; open-hand slap Roy Hibbert’s big, stupid face. No, I don’t think it’s possible. Trevor Booker is a keeper and I love the hell out of him.

One thing Jazz fans have all clung to is the scrappy, balls-out guy—see Matt Harpring, Adam Keefe, Jack Cooley and DeMarre Carroll. Trevor Booker is the ultimate embodiment of that guy and he’s reaping the rewards of Jazz fandom because of it.

My only hope is that he retires a Jazz man. Make it happen, Randy Rigby.

Oh hey, speak of the devil. Yes, Jack Cooley will make an NBA roster. He’s big enough, strong enough and talented enough to play in the NBA. He proved that last year during his tenure with the Jazz. What’s more, his ability to score inside and gobble rebounds are skills plenty of teams covet and can put to good use.

I was bummed to see Cooley go. Unfortunately, the Jazz have a shedload of young front court talent and had to cut somebody. Other NBA teams aren’t so lucky.

Both the Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat could use some help in the rebounding category. The Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trailblazers, Sacramento Kings, Washington Wizards, Brooklyn Nets and Dallas Maverick all lack depth at the power forward and/or center position.

My guess is that Cooley will be picked up by one of those teams.

While I think that Trey Lyles will ultimately be the best of this year’s Utah Jazz rookie flock, my pick is Raul Neto. This is solely based on how dire the straits are at the point guard position. Trey Burke hasn’t shown the ability to be a capable starting point guard and, out of necessity, Neto’s going to have to play a lot of minutes.

In fact, I think he’ll be in the starting lineup before All-Star Weekend.

This may not be a bad thing. Neto’s shown a knack for playing disruptive defense and getting steals. And although he’s not a shooter, his game is tailored to play alongside scorers. Neto can distribute the ball. Hopefully that translates into plenty of buckets for Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward and the rest of the crew.

Neto at point guard allows Alec Burks to play the two—his more natural position. And with how Alec has been killing it in the preseason, it seems that would be ideal.

Additionally, the jury’s still out on Tibor Pleiß. I think it’s going to take him a while to build up his body and adjust to the NBA’s style of play.

Neto. He’s bigger, stronger, just as fast, plays better defense and is more suited for the Utah Jazz style of basketball. Bryce Cotton is my favorite rendition of Mighty Mouse I’ve seen in a long time, but he has his fair share of shortcomings—mostly height.

I still think he’ll get plenty of burn as a backup, though. In fact, I think the more accurate and appropriate question is, who will play more: Trey Burke or Bryce Cotton?

Until next time.

Next: #NBARank Does Derrick Favors Dirty

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