As the NBA moves further toward perimeter shooting being the sole focus, the Utah Jazz are choosing to build around a defensive-minded big man.
The Utah Jazz are in an NBA limbo. Do they blow it up after Gordon Hayward‘s departure, or jump on the mediocrity treadmill to repeatedly finish in the middle of the Western Conference standings?
We’ve seen teams remain stagnant in the middle of the league before, failing to suffer through the apprenticeship at the bottom of the standings before building their championship contender.
From what general manager Dennis Lindsey told Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune, the Jazz still have their eyes at the top. They are continuing to build toward an NBA championship:
"“We feel like we can build defensively around Rudy Gobert. We look at him, and he’s a top 10 player and unique defender. So we wanted to build a team around his talents.”"
It’s a noble stance from Lindsey, who is one of the most well respected front office guys in the league. He’s not falling on his sword after failing to re-sign Hayward; he’s swinging it, looking to take down the handful of teams between them and the Larry O’Brien trophy.
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Gobert is a game-changer, but he’s not a prolific game winner. Don’t let the fact the Frenchman was second in the league in win shares last season fool you — that wouldn’t have been the case if he was the anchor of many other teams. He’s going to need the support of those around him, especially offensively, to will this team into the playoffs and beyond.
As a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, Gobert is an expert at forcing driving players into difficult shots, but there’s not much he can do to deter the barrage of three-pointers that will rain down when playing the Golden State Warriors or Houston Rockets.
They say “defense wins championshipsm” but the Jazz may have taken the phrase a little too literally. Nevertheless, the Jazz have gone all in on defense.
In his efforts to build a team capable of defending the influx of perimeter scoring in the NBA today, Lindsey has picked up two more defensive-minded players to put around Gobert.
Perimeter defensive specialist Thabo Sefolosha has been added, as has Euroleague Final Four MVP, Ekpe Udoh.
Thanks to the @ATLHawks for these past 3 years ! Now it's on to the @utahjazz for the next chapter of my career ! Can't wait...#takenotes
— Thabo Sefolosha (@ThaboSefolosha) July 13, 2017
They offer depth at guard and center but most importantly, ensure the second unit doesn’t see a dip in defensive intensity to let opposing teams create unassailable leads. Sefolosha’s arrival provides the Jazz with a ready-made option to defend the opposition’s best player — he’s built a career on it — while Udoh endeavors to back up Gobert to a level that teams can’t exploit as their star player catches his breath on the bench.
Overcoming the paucity of points isn’t going to be easy for the Jazz.
After some scintillating Summer League performances, rookie Donovan Mitchell will play a heightened role in filling the 22-points-per-game void left by Haywards. He’s shown an ability put the ball in the basket any which way without steering away from tough shots.
"Tough shot" is right.
— Jason (@SportsJO13) July 7, 2017
This Mitchell kid can score. #TakeNote #SummerLeague https://t.co/teqtWZuTGx
With the ball, it may take some time for Mitchell to find his role. His place in the offensive will take some work, and in-game experience will be the only way to iron out the kinks. But defensively, he’s well aware of its importance to any future success and identifies the satisfaction of having Gobert behind him, telling the Salt Lake Tribune:
"“We have the chance to be very good defensively. With Rudy in the middle, that allows the guards on the perimeter to pressure their men. If we get beat, we have the big guy to erase our mistakes and challenge in the paint. It’s a nice luxury to have.”"
The Jazz will be looking to emulate their 30th-ranked pace of 2016-17 by playing at a crawl. Frustrating teams into missed shots and unforced errors will be the source of several wins – if not all of them.
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It’s a risky ploy, and one most will write off as the rest of the NBA moves in the opposite direction. But they are used to playing the underdog; while other teams duplicate, the Jazz will dominate.
Defensively, at least.