Utah Jazz: DPOY status aside, Gobert’s offense is invaluable

Defense made Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert a star in the Association, but his offense has become an essential part of his team’s attack.

Friday night was, well…not the best night for the Utah Jazz. Losing to a squad that is several games under .500 and headed to the lottery, while simultaneously ceding the season series to said team, is never a good thing.

That and the team’s porous defense aside, you know what struck me about the effort? How much I noticed Rudy Gobert‘s rather meager offensive performance. Sure, he had one especially nasty throw-down and an incredible sequence where he took the ball half the length of the court, executed a sweet spin move and scored, but on the whole, there was not much to write home about.

Gobert finished with nine points on 3-of-6 shooting in the game. A ho-hum line, to be sure, but there was a time when that kind of night would have been par for the course. He still acted as a deterrent in the paint in the game, blocking five shots and, for years, that was his only real function on the hardwood. Now, not so much.

In the here and now, you notice when the Stifle Tower has that kind of night offensively, because he’s become one of the NBA’s unsung stars on that side of the ball; a key cog in Quin Snyder’s offensive machine. Without him, the Jazz offense usually flounders, a fact that many can’t seem to grasp.

So, how about we dig into some math?

Nearly 81 percent of Gobert’s shot attempts come within three feet of the hoop, which may not be sexy for the longball enthusiasts out there, but consider that he scores on 72.7 percent of those attempts. That’s 1.45 points per scoring opportunity. For comparison, a 3-point shooter would have to connect at a rate of 48.5 percent to achieve the same result.

As much as the 3-point shot pushes the action in the modern era of space and pace, an easy shot at the tin remains the best way to score in the league, and few are better in this zone than Gobert. His efforts there open up perimeter opportunities for the rest of his team, too. Vertical spacing is very much a thing.

It’s this innate ability to get buckets down low that makes him arguably the best roll man in the league. Through 65 games this season, Gobert has scored 293 points as the roll man in screen-roll action. That’s second only to the Toronto Raptors’ Serge Ibaka. In terms of efficiency/points per possession, Gobert ranks in the 85th percentile in those situations.

We’re literally talking about the most fundamental play in basketball and the most-utilized offensive action league-wide, and Rudy rocks it.

That leads me to his ability to set the picks, which is basically second to none.

Gobert’s size and length translate most obviously to the defensive side of the court, where it helps him to get hands on balls and seal off lanes to would-be drivers. But the same principles apply to his ability to seal off defenders and free up teammates for open looks.

Simply put, you’re not getting around him.

Gobert’s six screen assists per game lead the NBA and are directly responsible for 13.9 points a night.

If you combine that output, his own scoring (15.4 PPG) and the 5.3 points created by his 2.1 assists per game, that’s at least 34.6 points of calculable Jazz offense per contest that Gobert directly creates or influences, or 31.4 of the team’s total output.

That’s a Karl-Anthony Towns-like number and, as an added bonus, Gobert actually brings value on the other side of the floor (and elite value at that).

Clearly, that’s enormous contribution offensively, and a major reason why the Jazz find themselves nine games above .500 with a real chance to get into the Western Conference’s top four ahead of postseason play.

And, on the off nights, i.e. Friday’s debacle in Memphis, the lack thereof is a slash to the Achilles for the Jazz. Gobert may be the reigning NBA DPOY, but he’s literally become an offensive cornerstone. Not just in some esoteric, anecdotal way, either. The numbers bear it out.

Not bad for a big, tall, slow guy that just blocks shots and rebounds, huh?