Utah Jazz: Most intriguing individual matchups series – Northwest Division
Denver Nuggets: Nikola Jokic vs. Rudy Gobert
This one ought to come as no surprise. Although there are a couple of intriguing options here as it’s always nice to see what Donovan Mitchell can do against the team that opted to trade him in the 2017 NBA Draft, we’d best not forget that Rudy Gobert was yet another Nuggets castaway that was scooped up by the Jazz as well. And the matchup he specifically has against Denver is a thrilling one as he’ll take on Nikola Jokic.
Jokic has set himself apart as one of the most prolific big men in the NBA, as he was an All-Star last season and qualified for the All-NBA First Team. He thrived with 20.1 points per game on 51.1 percent shooting from the field as well as going a respectable (for a big man) 30.7 percent from the three-point line, though that was a considerable drop from the season before.
The Joker also dominated the boards by pulling down 10.8 per game and distinguished himself as arguably the best passing big man in the game today by averaging 7.3 assists per contest. Jokic is an all-around force on the offensive end, capable of doing so much damage to any and all that oppose him.
Due to the fact that he’s touted as one of the best centers in the league playing for one of the best teams in the West (Denver earned the two-seed last season), it’s no wonder that a matchup between he and Gobert would be special. However, Jokic’s one weakness is where Gobert happens to thrive – on defense.
Because Jokic has been the recipient of so much more decorated praise largely due to his offensive prowess whereas Gobert’s defensive dominance and under-the-radar offensive impact are largely overlooked, it’s no mystery why Rudy always seems to play with an extra edge and chip on his shoulder against Jokic. And more often than not, Gobert has found a way to come out on top.
In four games between the Nuggets and Jazz last season, Jokic averaged just 13.3 points per contest on 37.3 percent shooting from the field and an appalling mark of 9.1 percent from the perimeter while posting a plus/minus of minus-4. Meanwhile, Gobert put up 15.8 points per game against Denver while shooting 52.5 percent from the field.
Yes, Jokic remained prolific in terms of assists and rebounds in those contests, but it should be noted that he averaged just half a block per game whereas Rudy came in at 2.5.
The most notable mismatch between these two last season came on April 9th, wherein Jokic posted just two points on 1-of-6 shooting compared to Rudy’s 20 on 58.3 percent shooting. Though, in fairness, it should be noted that this was an end-of-season game for Denver with seeding essentially set on their end.
Nevertheless, considering that Utah and Denver figure to be two of the behemoths of the West and that both Gobert and Jokic will be jockeying for the title of best center in the league yet again next season, expect their head-to-head bouts to be riveting in all four contests against one another in 2019-20.
Scheduled Contests:
- 1/30 Utah at Denver
- 2/5 Denver at Utah
- 4/5 Utah at Denver
- 4/14 Denver at Utah