Utah Jazz: 3 Match-ups to watch versus defending champions Toronto Raptors

Rudy Gobert vs Team Spain

One of the funnest individual match-ups I’ve gotten to watch in person was Marc Gasol vs Rudy Gobert. I got to see it twice while attending Jazz games in the 2014-15 and 2016-17 seasons.

Back in 2015 I considered Gasol to be the best center in the NBA (sorry DeMarcus Cousins) and Rudy Gobert was an up and coming guy ready to take that crown. It started in the 2014 FIBA Tournament when Rudy nearly knocked off Gasol and Team Spain in what would have been a major upset victory.

To make tonight’s game even funner, Gobert will get to face off against another center that plays for Team Spain, namely Serge Ibaka. Though he isn’t quite the athlete he used to be in his Oklahoma City days, Ibaka is still a fine defensive center that can spread the floor a little bit on the offensive end.

The Raptors own the NBA’s second best defense thanks in no small part to their deep talent at the center position. Rudy Gobert and the Jazz will have their hands full tonight containing the Raptors bigs, especially when Gobert needs to sit for a few minutes.

Ever since the All-Star break, Rudy’s basic box-score line has been down. His numbers don’t look very gaudy at 13.1 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, but he still carries the major gravity we all love him for.

If he can deny Gasol and Ibaka from contributing their normal combined 23.4 points per game and make scoring in the paint a painful visit for every other Raptors player, the Jazz will be in good position to win this game.

However, if he can’t combat the Raptors choosing to play five-out offense by stashing Gasol (40 percent) or Ibaka (38 percent) on the 3-point line, it will be a long night for the Utah Jazz.