At the 2019-20 NBA season’s midway point, few (if any) players have been more dominant for the Utah Jazz than Rudy Gobert.
The Utah Jazz are fortunate to have two All-Star caliber players leading their team in Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. Each is tremendous in his own way, and it will likely be a long-held debate among both Jazz fans and supporters of other squads which player is truly the best on the team.
That’s a conversation for another day, though, as on this occasion, we’ll simply be evaluating how Rudy Gobert has performed at the season’s midway mark. Whether or not one considers him ahead of or behind Donovan Mitchell, there’s no denying that he is the anchor of Utah’s defense and arguably their most important player overall in terms of fitting with Utah’s system and making everything work.
Though he’s mainly known for his defense, Gobert’s impact on offense is also phenomenal as he serves as an efficient roll-man, a prolific screen assist guy and an excellent finisher in the paint capable of going well above the rim and commanding the opposition’s attention in the key.
With that backdrop, let’s dive in a little further and evaluate just how steady Gobert has been overall so far this year.
Offense
On the surface level, Rudy Gobert’s offensive figures are solid but don’t scream incredible. He’s putting up 15 points per game, down slightly from a year ago, and perhaps most disappointing is his dip in free-throw percentage as he’s fallen to 60.6 percent. That mark is down three percent from last season and down eight percent from a season before that.
Considering that fighting for buckets at the rim is Rudy’s scoring specialty, it would be far more encouraging to see him post a higher conversion rate on free throws. A heightened reliability at the charity stripe would make Gobert a much more prolific offensive weapon and would certainly bolster his scoring average as well.
The missed free throws certainly impact games. Just look at Thursday’s loss to the New Orleans Pelicans wherein Gobert could have won the game in regulation had he not split his pair of free throws at the fourth quarter’s conclusion.
On the bright side, Gobert is shooting a career-high 67.4 percent from the field which means his teammates are finding him in good spots and he’s converting extremely well.
But his impact goes well beyond that. Gobert is currently first in the league in screen assists by a healthy margin with eight per game. The second-highest mark in the NBA is an entire screen assist less than Rudy, and that is owned by Indiana’s Domantas Sabonis who averages seven. Unsurprisingly, Gobert also leads the league in points generated off screen assists at 18.2. Again, Sabonis comes in second but at a much-reduced 15.6.
In pick-and-rolls, Gobert is also highly efficient. He averages 1.16 points per possession as the roll-man and gets 4.6 of his points per game in that fashion. Even more encouraging is the fact that Rudy is shooting a solid mark of 62.9 percent in those situations.
Lastly, let’s not ignore the fact that Gobert most certainly commands the opposition’s attention on offense. The space he takes up in the paint is immense and opposing bigs are forced to have their attention glued to him pretty much at all times. He’s increased his ability to catch in traffic and is getting better at fighting through contact to convert.
As a constant lob threat, Rudy is someone that can’t be ignored and helps make his teammates’ lives easier as they attack the basket and nearly always have the option to dump the ball off to him if and when the defense collapses.
Rudy’s offensive impact is easily seen in the difference in Utah’s offensive rating when he’s on versus off the court. With Gobert on the floor, the Jazz post a mark of 113. When he’s off, it dips all the way to 102.2. That’s a swing of over 10 points, which is almost difficult to believe.
But the proof is in the pudding. With Rudy in action, the Jazz’s offense has a constant paint threat and his improved finishing as denoted by his career-best field goal percentage has been a revelation this year.
The only major issues with Rudy’s offense this year have been the poor free throw shooting, which allows opponents to feel comfortable fouling him to make him earn points at the line, and a lack of expanding his offensive shooting repertoire. Now, I’m not saying we need to see Gobert become a frequent post-up guy or develop a mid-range jump shooting game, but I’ve long hoped that he’d develop some sort of move for when he’s a few feet out from the basket.
If he can use his height and length to better maneuver around defenders with a little push shot or finger-roll-esque move, he’ll be able to take even better advantage of mismatches and be even more of a threat. Still, Gobert’s offense is rock solid and far better than he’s often credited for due to his surface stats, so I’m giving him good marks here.
Grade: B+
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+
Overall
What’s left to be said about Rudy Gobert? In short, he is absolutely deserving of an All-Star selection. He’s Utah’s most important player for their defensive scheme and allows their offense to thrive. He continues to improve on areas that some have identified as weaknesses, and rather than plateau he simply is getting better.
His offensive impact is dramatic, with a greater than 10-point swing per 100 possessions when he’s on the court versus off. On defense, he has an uncanny ability to completely shut down opponents with his length, timing and quickness. Factor in as well that he’s having a solid scoring season as well as the best rebounding season of his career and he most certainly looks like an All-Star.
Opposing coaches have to always be aware of him. He can almost single-handedly put their game plans in shambles. He’s producing Jazz wins left and right and has easily been one of the best centers in the game this season.
The Jazz are playing extremely well, have a very clear shot at a top-three seed and are looking like a dangerous foe come playoff time. That is all largely thanks to the exceptional play of Rudy Gobert. As such, it’s easy to determine his overall grade as a rock solid A.