Utah Jazz: Rudy Gobert Proves His Worth In Absence

Although he only missed one game, the effects of Rudy Gobert‘s absence on the Utah Jazz were unmistakable in their loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder and subsequent victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Rudy Gobert has been the Utah Jazz’s rock this season, both in terms of his consistency and his steadying play on the court. Prior to Saturday, he had started each of his team’s 65 games, averaging 13.1 points, 12.7 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game.

When power forward Derrick Favors is out, as he has been the past few games, Utah is paper-thin at backup center, rostering only journeyman Jeff Withey and sliding over power forwards such as Trey Lyles to fill holes.

Unfortunately for the Jazz, this was exactly the situation they were left in Saturday against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Gobert was a late scratch due to knee soreness and with Favors previously ruled out, they had no choice but to turn to Withey for the start.

From an overall perspective, it’s clear there’s a huge drop-off from Gobert to Withey: the lineup of George Hill, Rodney Hood, Gordon Hayward, Joe Johnson and Gobert is plus-26.3 points per 100 possessions on the season.

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Take Gobert off the court and this number plummets to an almost unthinkable minus-61.4 points per 100 possessions.

Utah Jazz

Facing Oklahoma City, paint protection and rebounding were doubly important;  the Thunder are tied for the most rebounds per game behind strong efforts on the glass from Steven Adams and Russell Westbrook.

Stopping Westbrook at the basket is the most important factor towards slowing him down; nearly 30 percent of his 24.4 shot attempts per game come from within three feet of the basket.

This is an area Gobert excels in, as opponents shoot nearly 13 percent lower than their usual when he defends at the rim.

Although the final score was a relatively close 112-104, the game was not nearly that competitive all the way through. The Jazz were able to pull the deficit back thanks to an impassioned effort from their bench, but their starters struggled mightily against the Thunder first unit.

The starting lineup with Withey finished minus-10 in just 11 minutes, as Quin Snyder elected to go smaller with Joel Bolomboy or Lyles as the game went on. Withey himself was a minus-12, shooting just 1-of-5 from the field and providing little resistance at the rim.

The Thunder got to the rim with ease, scoring a whopping 58 points in the paint, with Victor Oladipo, Steven Adams and Taj Gibson putting up 10 each. OKC’s starters also outrebounded Utah’s starters by a margin of 33-13.

Without any sort of domineering presence in the paint, the Jazz lost their defensive identity.

With the NBA’s third-best defensive rating on the season, Utah generally operates by playing smart, active defense that funnels opponents right into Gobert’s domain in the paint.

Utah has good defensive players besides Gobert to be sure — Hill, Hayward, Ingles and others grade out favorably — but the game plan falls apart without an elite rim protector.

In the Jazz’s next game, against the Los Angeles Clippers, perhaps even more was at stake.

This matchup could very well be a preview of the Western Conference’s 4-5 first-round series, with both teams still fighting for position.

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Luckily, Gobert had recovered enough since the previous game to where he could play and his presence was certainly felt.

Even while still missing Favors, the Jazz were instantly provided a boost in defending a team that runs most of their action through big men Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.

The result here was different, as the Jazz rode an ultra-efficient third quarter to a hard-fought 114-108 win. Both teams executed at an extremely high level on offense, shooting better than 50 percent and combining for just 13 turnovers.

Even so, the Clippers were held to just 30 points in the paint. Griffin in particular had a rough game, shooting just 3-for-8 on his way to eight points.

Although he often had a size advantage over defenders like Hayward or Joe Johnson, the threat of Gobert lurking the paint seemed to persuade him into settling for jump shots.

Los Angeles managed only eight second-chance points (to the Thunder’s 18) despite the efforts of Jordan and Griffin, who combine to average 22 rebounds per game.

When Favors returns, the Jazz will finally have their entire big man rotation available. Although both Favors and Gobert start, Quin Snyder prefers to stagger the two, maximizing each of their effects down low.

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Either way, it’s clear that subtracting Rudy Gobert from the Jazz changes the fundamental makeup of the team, from their strengths to their basic defensive identity.