Utah Jazz stud: Rudy Gobert
From reading the preamble alone, you probably expected to see Gobert’s name here.
This Utah Jazz team undeniably missed him, potential personal issues aside. Gobert finished this game with 18 points, 19 rebounds and 2 blocks. Moreover, he was perfect from the field, hitting all 7 of his field goal attempts.
Of course, anyone who routinely watches the Jazz knows that Gobert is more than just his point, rebound and block totals. He is effectively Quin Snyder’s defensive system. With the Stifle Tower back in action, the Jazzmen were able to funnel driving Nuggets into Gobert’s radius. That’s not a place you want to be if you’re angling to convert a layup attempt into 2 points.
Often times, Gobert acts as such a deterrent that opposing players don’t even really try to score inside. Unfortunately for them, a sealed off interior is effectively a sealed off basket. Gobert and his Jazz demonstrated that principle consistently last night. With the Nuggets unable to penetrate the paint, they were equally unable to collapse the defense and create open outside looks.
That’s kind of the point. When Gobert in the middle, this Utah Jazz defense doesn’t collapse.
As mentioned, Nikola Jokic was outstanding in this contest. Aaron Gordon had a solid game too, finishing with 20 points while shooting 8/15 from the field. Otherwise, not a single Nugget was efficient in this contest. Rudy Gobert’s presence in the paint was the primary reason for their struggles.
The Utah Jazz dropped 4 consecutive games in Gobert’s absence. They beat a quality Denver Nuggets team by 23 points in his first game back.
That probably isn’t a coincidence.