Utah Jazz: 2017-18 to be Ricky Rubio’s best season yet

“Rubert”

With an improvement in Rubio’s offense, comes an elevation of Gobert’s.

The Frenchman is widely considered a one-trick pony; someone who is just a big body with long arms and expert defensive timing. Not many people expect much out of him when his team is in possession of the ball. Despite a steady improvement, Gobert is still being underrated as an offensive threat — Rubio can change that.

The possibilities in the pick-and-roll are endless. A nickname like “Rubert” for the potent one-two-punch is inevitable. With his vision and passing ability, Rubio will be hoisting the ball towards the rim for Gobert to slam down at regular intervals.

Gobert hit 68 percent of his shots from within five feet last season, but that was made easier by George Hill’s 40 percent shooting from beyond the arc. At 30 percent, defenders aren’t rushing to get a hand in Rubio’s face, thus becoming a possible help defender on a rolling Gobert.

If Rubio can turn his summer 3-point practice into regular season points, he would not only help himself but his low-post teammates as well.

Pick-and-roll handler was far and way Rubio’s most frequent offensive role last season at 38.5 percent. Unless his 3-point shooting stalls at 30 percent, we should see an increase. If Rubio can develop a somewhat threatening 3-point shot to punish defenders going under the Gobert screen, a pick-and-roll frequency north of 40 percent is a lock.

Gobert’s offensive development relies heavily on his point guard. He doesn’t have the skill-set to create regularly out of the post, nor is it the way NBA teams play in 2017.

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Rubio was saying all of the right things on Media Day with his “focus on 3-point shooting.” Whether or not it translates into the regular season and helps boost his pick and roll numbers will be evident on Oct. 18.