Defense
It’s no secret that defense is where Rudy Gobert thrives. Aptly nicknamed “Two-Time” by teammate Emmanuel Mudiay for the fact that he’s won back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards, it’s become common knowledge that Gobert is a monster on the defensive end. Unsurprisingly, he’s continuing that trend again in 2019-20.
Gobert has literally taken over games with his defensive prowess and has a number of game-sealing blocks on the year including ones against Damian Lillard, Brandon Ingram and Zach LaVine. Naysayers may point to his blocks per game being down this year to 1.9, but honestly I feel that’s more an indication that the league is wising up about trying to challenge him at the rim.
Even when he isn’t blocking shots, Gobert is frequently altering them or simply pushing guys out of the paint entirely. When Gobert is on the floor, Utah’s defensive rating is a staunch 103.6, but when he leaves it balloons to 108.4, nearly a five-point per 100 possessions swing. The Jazz’s defensive rating is worse when Gobert is off the floor than it is when any other individual player sits.
Gobert is also having the best rebounding season of his career as he’s at 14.5 rebounds per game. The defensive rebound is what closes out a defensive possession, so it’s certainly a critical aspect of his game on that end. His 10.8 defensive rebounds per game is also a career high.
Once again, Gobert’s defense can be difficult to track in a box score, but a mere glance at how well he shuts down the paint for possession after possession evidences just how solid he is. His presence alone is a big reason why the Jazz are in the top 10 in both opponent field goal percentage and opponent points per game.
What’s even more encouraging about Rudy has been his improvement outside of the paint as well. No, he is nowhere near a perimeter defender extraordinaire, but Gobert’s underrated quickness has allowed him to step out to the free throw line and beyond to slow drivers, and on several occasions he’s able to recover and stifle the rim as well.
Although voter fatigue is a very real thing, Gobert still deserves to be firmly in the conversation for winning Defensive Player of the Year a third year running. His ability to allow the Jazz to shut down opponents on that end is an enormous reason why they’ve had continued success this year. Aside from a few hiccups here and there, there’s really nothing negative to be said about Rudy’s exceptional defensive effort.
Grade: A+