Utah’s defensive force, Gobert, has Thunder flummoxed
SALT LAKE CITY — Donovan Mitchell doesn’t let opponents dribble past him on purpose. But sometimes, the Utah Jazz rookie doesn’t mind when they do.
Even when the likes of Russell Westbrook get past Mitchell, he’s not too concerned. “I’m like, ‘OK, try it,’” Mitchell thinks to himself. “I’ve tried it, and it doesn’t work.”
Utah’s 7-foot-1 Rudy Gobert protects the basket like few players in NBA history. It’s not just his shot-blocking or the threat of shot blocking. It’s his quick reactions and 7-foot-9 wingspan, which makes Gobert a horizontal enforcer as much as a vertical enforcer.
The Thunder is down two games to one in this Western Conference playoff series, and Gobert is the reason why. For
a full decade, the Thunder offense has revolved around Westbrook’s assaults on the basket. He’s been scared by neither man nor beast. Not by Tim Duncan. Not by DeAndre Jordan. Not by Marc Gasol. Westbrook would go where others dared not trod.
But Gobert has put fear in Westbrook and all his Thunder teammates, who when they do attack the basket in this series are as apt to retreat as not. Witness the many exasperating turnovers in Game 3 Saturday night, when Westbrook left his feet only to think better of challenging Gobert and passed back into no man’s land. Gobert’s defensive impact is measured not just in the shots he alters, it’s the shots opponents don’t even take.
“It makes the guards’ jobs a lot easier,” Mitchell said. “You feel more secure on the wing. It may not show up in the (box score), but players think about it. They get by, they’re like, ‘uh, I don’t know if I want to shoot it.’ So that’s when the jump pass comes into effect and that leads to turnovers. It’s an intimidation factor. It’s different trying to go up against this guy.”
Westbrook wouldn’t admit to being intimidated by an earthquake. But his frustration clearly is mounting.
“Put him in position where he has to make a decision,” Westbrook said of how to counter Gobert. “He’s just sitting under the basket, so we
gotta make him pay.”
Well, Gobert is not just sitting under the basket. He’s in the high lane, disrupting pick-and-rolls, and he’s out in the corner, keeping a hand up on Jerami Grant or Patrick Patterson, while also nimbly getting back to the basket for intimidation.
Gobert has become one of the NBA’s most valuable players. Don’t buy it?
The Jazz this regular season was 37-19 when Gobert played; 11-15 when he didn’t. Two years ago, Gobert missed 21 games. Utah was 7-14 without him, 35-28 with him. In 2014-15, Quin Snyder’s first season as head coach, the Jazz traded Enes Kanter to the Thunder, making way for Gobert to enter the starting lineup. Utah was 19-34 when the trade was made but went 19-10 the rest of the way.
Gobert was drafted 27th overall in 2013, taken by the Nuggets but sent immediately to Utah. Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey saw massive height, good feet and uncommon instincts. He saw a potential defensive difference-maker.
But that doesn’t mean Utah knew what it was getting. Heck, as a rookie, Gobert even spent some time in the development league, waiting his time.
“When we drafted Rudy, I don’t know that you could immediately foresee what he’s doing now,” Snyder said. “But at the same time, Dennis saw something in him that was unique.”
So unique that Gobert (pronounced go-bear) now commands as many
nicknames as anyone in basketball. The Stifle Tower. The French Resistance. Don’t Gobert. French Toaster.
“He’s hell in there blocking shots,” said teammate Jonas Jerebko, who joined Utah this season. “I just remember playing against him. You’re trying to get to that hole, and you see him standing there, you’d rather pass it to a corner or you’d rather give it up, because he’s going to block a lot of shots or alter a lot of shots and make it really tough.”
Snyder calls Gobert competitive and confident. Says Gobert’s ceiling probably is the blue sky, which he seems to reach merely by raising his arm. Gobert’s standing reach is 9-foot-7. He comes five inches shy of the rim before even jumping.
Gobert says he “knew it was going to take time and a lot of work,” to make it in the NBA. “That was my goal. I still have a lot of room to grow and get better. I think the more you study the game, the more you want to win.”
Snyder has built perhaps the NBA’s best defense around Gobert, and now even Westbrook, the Thunder’s irresistible force, has met his match. The Jazz is funneling Westbrook to the basket, where for a decade he has thrived but now is hesitant to go.
Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at (405) 760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM98.1. You can also view his personality page at newsok.com/berrytramel.