Utah Jazz: Rudy Gobert
Defense matters. Even though many basketball fans think three pointers, Stephen Curry, and poster dunks are the only things that count, there is so much more to a team’s success. The main other factor being defense, and that’s what Rudy Gobert stands for. Well, to introduce Gobert effectively, that’s what The Stifle Tower stands for.
So, just how impossible does Gobert make life for his opponents? They are shooting a hopeless 35.7 percent against him. That’s simply ridiculous. To make players struggle to hit barely a third of their shots, when most of those shots come against you by the basket, is something that no one else in the NBA can do right now.
It speaks volumes about Gobert’s record 7-foot-8 wingspan and 7-foot-1 frame, not to mention how he pursues opponents and rotates on defense with his monstrous arms to bother anyone who comes close. Even though his block numbers (2.6 per game) may not match Hassan Whiteside’s league-best 4.5, Gobert is still killing the efficiency of other players better than anyone else.
For some context, Gobert’s opponent field goal percentage is at least five percent lower than the likes of Serge Ibaka, Draymond Green, Kawhi Leonard and Hassan Whiteside. Gobert makes that much of a difference, and he’s the reason why Utah’s opponents only shoot a mere 54.9 percent within five feet of the basket.
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