Rudy Gobert dominates the key matchup
When I checked the box score at the end of the first quarter, I noticed that Gobert had already accumulated eight rebounds. He finished the game with 19, compared to only 11 for Nikola Vucevic.
Throughout the game Vooch avoided having to go one-on-one with Rudy both offensively and defensively. Rather than try to force a Gobert miss from the post, Vucevic fouled him under the basket and sent him to the free throw line.
When the Magic needed Vucevic to score, they tried setting up a mismatch in the post. They kept Vucevic on the perimeter to pull Rudy out of the paint. But despite their best efforts, Vucevic only made four of his 15 shots from the floor, including two of eight three pointers.
A big reason why he was able to earn his first all-star selection last season was because of his expanded shooting range. Before that happened Vucevic was basically a rich man’s version of Enes Kanter: racking up double-double stats with shoddy defense. He was in danger of becoming outdated in the modern NBA where scoring bigs have to shoot well from the three if they can’t protect the rim defensively.
Rudy Gobert: “I felt something I haven’t felt in a while, defensively. As a team, we’re back doing the little things that are gonna help us be a good defensive team. ... You saw the communication was there, boxing out, rebounds — we were doing all the little details.” pic.twitter.com/04kKepKMIJ
— Eric Walden (@tribjazz) December 18, 2019
Vooch shot 33 percent from outside last season, and is averagin 32 percent from downtown this season. When he wandered out past the arc, oftentimes Rudy Gobert chose not to chase him out there. That was the right decision as Gobert was within range to grab crucial defensive rebounds and alter shots attempted from the inside.
It wasn’t too long ago that Karl-Anthony Towns buried seven three pointers while being guarded by Rudy Gobert. However, Rudy learned from his mistakes and shut down KAT the very next game holding him to only 14 points total.
Before the Utah Jazz’s recent slump, Gobert was a favorite to win the defensive player of the year award for the third time in a row. Despite the constant shift of the NBA, Rudy is able to adapt and still shut down opposing offenses no matter how they try to neutralize him. He’s already proved once again that he is adaptable in 26 games this season.