Ricky Rubio is a perfect fit for the Utah Jazz defense
When the Utah Jazz traded a first-round pick for Ricky Rubio at the end of free agency, it immediately signaled hand-wringing by some. George Hill and Gordon Hayward both are free agents, and the thought was the Jazz needed to sign Hill back to have a chance at getting Hayward to agree to a long-term deal. The deal for Rubio, which filled the $16 million in cap space the team had to use before July 1st, could signal the resignation by Utah that Hill will not be retainable. By extension, this could mean Hayward’s departure to Boston or Miami.
To make matters worse, the trade would seem to signify a clear downgrade at the point guard position for Utah. Hill was a valuable offensive piece, capable of both initiating the offense and spacing the floor to allow Hayward, Rodney Hood and Boris Diaw to create at the point of attack. Replacing his 40.3 percent outside shooting with Rubio seems like a problem. Even more concerning is what Hill meant to the defense — he helped anchor the defense with his smart pick-and-roll play, and his ability to switch onto bigs and deny them open looks at the rim was a uniquely valuable asset the team will miss.
The offensive concerns with Rubio are real. His lack of shooting and finishing is a crippling problem that went from hindering his otherworldly court vision and playmaking to outright cancelling it out in Minnesota. Surrounding him with Kevin Love and Kevin Martin resulted in a top-10 offense, but it was one that finished 26th in the league in 3-point shooting. Last year, the Timberwolves’ offense was pretty solid when Rubio was on the floor (110.7 offensive rating), but the offense was six points worse per 100 possessions when Rubio was on the floor and Karl-Anthony Towns was on the bench, per NBA Wowy.
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However, Utah may get more value out of Rubio than Minnesota ever could — and like Hill, most of his value will come on the defensive side of the ball.
Rubio is one of the most underrated defensive point guards in the league. His offensive strengths and shortcomings command a majority of the analysis he receives, but he’s chugged along as a very impressive defender at the point of attack the entire time. His quick hands have helped him lead the league in steal rate three times in the past five seasons, and he hasn’t finished outside the top 10 in that category in a season where he’s been healthy. He has great hip mobility, which helps him change directions and react quickly to rotate around the perimeter. Combine those athletic attributes with his brilliance at reading and reacting, and he’s a fantastic fit in the Jazz pick-and-roll scheme.
The Jazz had a fantastic defense last year, but they were actually pretty inconsistent defending the point of attack in the PNR. They allowed 0.88 points per possession to pick-and-roll ball-handlers last year, per Synergy numbers, the sixth-worst mark in the league. Hill was great at snuffing out the PNR when paired with Gobert, as he did a good job of knowing when to chase and when to defer to the big, and his size allowed him to body up opposing bigs to prevent a clear roll to the hoop.
But when it wasn’t Hill and Rudy Gobert corralling the opposing ball-handler, things got dicey. Shelvin Mack, Alec Burks and Raul Neto routinely got hung up on screens and struggled to recover, and the Jazz’s ICE-heavy PNR scheme — which works great when Gobert is able to shut the paint off with his length — led to their other bigs being left on an island, which was a problem against more solid athletic guards. Here’s Austin Rivers taking Jeff Withey one-on-one after Burks dies on a double screen:
And here’s Rubio himself taking advantage of Mack coming off the screen late, dribbling into an open mid-range look against Withey:
Gobert helps to shore up most of the Jazz’s shortcomings in the PNR, but this system wasn’t workable in the playoffs with him less than one hundred percent. The Jazz had problems defending elite off-the-dribble creation out of the pick-and-roll, and it was one of the many ways that the Warriors torched an otherwise elite defense in their second-round sweep.
Enter Rubio. The Spanish point guard could potentially be a better fit for what Utah wants to do against the PNR than even Hill was. That’s very strong praise, but Rubio’s combination of skills is a great fit for what Utah wants to do. His quickness and balance help him fight through screens at a high level, and he’s excellent going over screens and chasing while the big man ICE’s the ball-handler.
This was the Timberwolves’ preferred method of stopping the PNR, especially in those horns sets that gave Utah a lot of trouble early on. Towns or Gorgui Dieng would hang over the top of the PNR, while the other big hedged to protect the roll. Once Rubio got through the screen, the big would tighten down, and if it was timed right, Rubio could then get back and harass the opposing guard, usually leading to a steal.
If the guard gets a drive started on the big, Rubio offers a similar tactic to Hill’s bumps on the roll man — he’s quick enough to skirt around the big, preventing a roll and effectively trapping against a dump-off.
Rubio isn’t as switchable as Hill, which does present an issue. However, he does have the lower body base to be able to hold up against lighter 4s and 3s, and those hands can compensate for a lot if he gets posted up.
On Utah’s defense, these skills should help shore up some of the issues the Jazz experienced with the pick-and-roll last season. Much like with Dieng, who tends to be tentative about clamping down on the perimeter against a guard, Rubio’s quickness navigating screens should help compensate for Favors, who struggles to contain penetration and likes to give some cushion when icing a guard. He also communicates well (“Well” is probably underselling it – his attention to detail is pathologic), which should help some of the organizational issues the Jazz would have when Gobert was off the floor. And the combination of Gobert hanging over the top of a PNR while Rubio is chasing? That’s going to generate a lot of pressure, which should lead to a little bit more havoc for the Jazz’s conservative defense.
But Rubio’s benefit goes beyond the pick-and-roll — his size allows him to be a useful off-ball defender as well, and he can help clean up a lot of the mistakes guys like Dante Exum and rookie Donovan Mitchell are likely to incur. He can’t consistently shut down these players, but he can comfortably rotate to a 3 such as Rudy Gay, with the quickness to stay with the 3 and not get dislodged.
Rubio’s ability to handle 2s off ball will help open up some more workable matchups for the Jazz. If the other team has a bigger primary initiator like James Harden that Quin Snyder would want to stick Joe Ingles on, Rubio can slide over to defend the other guard position. They can also make better use of guys like Rodney Hood (who is much better as an on-ball defender than off-ball), letting Hood guard the point of attack and Rubio stick to a shooter.
The re-signing of Joe Ingles likely makes this all work. Ingles can be the switching perimeter defender that covers the best shooter or slasher on the floor, clamping down on the options presented to the pick-and-roll initiator. His effectiveness against backcourt players will help Rubio against bigger primary creators, and he was about the only true turnover generator Utah had on the perimeter last season. That they were able to retain him is massive, because the combination of Rubio and Ingles creates one of the better defensive backcourts in the entire NBA.
Ultimately, the Jazz’s ability to contend in 2017-18 rests on Hayward’s decision. We know the defensive side of the ball is Utah’s strength, and Hayward is the key to them being able to score enough for defense to actually matter. Rubio doesn’t move the needle for them towards contention. But what he can do is make the Jazz’s biggest strength stronger. He’s a beautiful fit on an already frustrating defense, combining with his fellow internationals to help create the strongest pick-and-roll clog in the league.
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Even if Hayward leaves, this defense is going to be ridiculous, which is impressive considering they’re losing one of the strongest point guard defenders in the game. Hill may be more talented, but Rubio fits better with what this team needs on that end. If Hayward is back, Rubio’s addition may help them contend better with the Warriors and Rockets in a playoff setting. If not, this is still going to be an absurdly fun defense.
Either way, this setting is perfect for Rubio, who should finally get the respect he deserves for his defensive talents.