Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports)
Utah Jazz vs Sacramento Kings: Big men
To be perfectly clear, the Utah Jazz have a distinct advantage over the Sacramento Kings when it comes to their rotation of big men. It just might not be as large of an advantage as fans may think.
Starting Kings center Richaun Holmes had a breakout season in 2020-21. He averaged 14.2 points per game with a 64.7 FG%, in addition to 8.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 29.0 minutes per contest. His combination of size, strength and lateral mobility gives Rudy Gobert a little more than an average center does to think about.
What really pops out about Holmes’ 2020-21 campaign is the field goal percentage. Like many bigs who shoot so efficiently from the field, Holmes reached those heights largely because the majority of his field goal attempts were dunks. His elite effectiveness around the rim limits Gobert’s optionality. He’ll have to drop in pick-and-roll coverage to ensure he’s in position to impede Holmes’ path to the basket.
Of course, Gobert prefers to drop anyway, but any thoughts he may have of blitzing the ball-handler will have to be set aside: especially if that ball handler is speedy, pass-friendly De’Aaron Fox.
Otherwise, the Kings roster Canadian big man Tristan Thompson as Holmes’ backup. They’ll be hoping that he looks better Utah Jazz backup 5 Hassan Whiteside, as they opted to pursue Thompson rather than resign Whiteside after he played for them last season. A head-to-head comparison of the two reveals very little, however, it’s worth noting that Whiteside averaged 3.0 blocks per 36 minutes last season in comparison to Thompson’s 0.9. That’s about the only significant statistical advantage that either enjoys over the other.
To be sure, Richaun Holmes and Tristan Thompson are not the most imposing tandem of bigs in NBA history, but they are both physical, bruising presences that stand to give Gobert and Whiteside some trouble. The Utah Jazz should be expecting to fight for rebounds and come home with some bruises after Friday night’s contest.