Utah Jazz: 3 takeaways from their preseason finale

Gobert can score

Every Jazz fan has heard it before:

“Gobert doesn’t add anything to the offense.”

“All he does is set screens and dunk.”

“He’s never going to be a consistent scorer.”

If Gobert’s final preseason hit out is anything to go by, the evidence to the contrary is going to be on display all season long.

Offering a menu of scoring options, Gobert scored 29 points in his 33 minutes on the court from just 12 shots. His 86.1 true shooting percentage produced a 105.2 offensive rating and +16.4 net rating for the night.

He scored in his typical fashion with four dunks and five layups. Everything you expect from Gobert, he displayed. But it was the turnaround bank hook shot, and even the cutting layups he missed that impressed.

With more confidence, he backed down defenders and threw fakes. Not always ending in a shot for himself, the moves to get into position to score if he had to were there.

Gobert saw plenty of the ball tonight. Perhaps too much. At times, it looked as though his teammates were forcing it in his direction or just throwing it up to bail themselves out. The decision-making of those around him will improve, but it’s likely their intent to feed him the ball will remain just as zealous throughout the regular season.

Who is going to score has been a constant question over the summer. Scoring 90 points per game isn’t going to be an issue for this team; the ability is there in spades. What will need some ironing out is who takes the ball in an effort to score with the opposition on a run, or who takes the game-defining shots late in games.

Tuesday night, Gobert proved it could be him.