Utah Jazz: Rudy Gobert stifles LA Clippers in blowout win

The Utah Jazz are in a virtual tie for seventh place in the Western Conference after Rudy Gobert put the hurt on the LA Clippers.

When the Utah Jazz’s brutal first-half schedule dropped them below .500 right out of the gate, Rudy Gobert‘s bid for that elusive first All-Star selection seemingly took a major hit. After all, teams that don’t win don’t put players in the All-Star Game, and players branded by the unlearned masses as defensive specialists are a tough sell as it is.

If his last three games are any indication, however, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year is determined to keep his name at the forefront of the conversation ahead of the coaches vote.

Gobert and company were in La-La Land on Wednesday night for what figured to be battle for playoff positioning with the LA Clippers. In the end, though, the Clips’ ill-fated battle in the paint with Gobert stole the show.

Thanks in large part to the big man’s efforts, the Jazz ran the Clips off the floor at Staples Center, notching their fifth straight win in a 129-109 laugher. They now find themselves in a virtual tie for seventh place in the wild Western Conference and just two and a half games behind the third-place Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Jazz center definitely had help in the matter; six players hit double figures for Utah with four scoring 19-plus, led by Donovan Mitchell‘s 28. Also — Kyle Korver and Jae Crowder combined to hit nine 3-pointers in the game.

Still, it was Gobert’s world and the Clips were struggling to live in it.

After logging a career-high eight assists to go with 15 points and 16 boards against the Chicago Bulls, then following that up with an 18-points, 25-board effort versus the Detroit Pistons, Gobert owned the tin on both ends of the floor once again, scoring 23 points, nabbing 22 rebounds and blocking four shots against LA.

Per StatMuse, that makes Gobert the first Jazzman in three decades to log a 20-20-4 line.

https://twitter.com/statmuse/status/1085781020731830272

Recent uptick aside, Gobert has been killing it for a while now. Going back to December 17, he’s averaging 16.1 points, 14.4 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and a steal per contest. Over that span, the Jazz have outscored opponents by 11 points per 100 possessions when he’s been on the floor.

For the year, he’s No. 1 league-wide in field goal percentage (65.1 percent), fifth in blocks (2.0 per), and ranks top-10 in individual offensive and defensive rating, defensive real plus/minus, box plus/minus, win shares and VORP.

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Meanwhile, the Jazz now boast the fourth-best defense in the league with a D-rating of 104.5 and are quickly closing in on the top spot. Gobert continues to be the primary force in that defensive dominance.

Getting that All-Star spot will still be a tall task; even as some early upstarts fall to the wayside, the list of players competing for frontcourt spots is a mile long and if rookie Luka Doncic gets a spot (he’s rocked the fan vote, and may just have the coaches at this point, too), the race gets especially tight. Steven Adams is also making a strong play for a first-time bid.

Nevertheless, the Jazz are getting hot at the right time and Gobert is making it harder and harder to deny his status as a top 10 player in the league and a legitimate force on both sides of the ball.

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