The Utah Jazz rank second in the West, and given their performances thus far, each of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell deserve their first All-Star nods.
On Dec. 4, the Utah Jazz owned a 12-10 record and sat at sixth in the Western Conference. Having just returned from a disappointing 1-4 road trip before being trounced by the Los Angeles Lakers at home by 25 points, Utah’s recently revamped roster was severely underachieving.
Since then, we’ve seen the Jazz’s play reach a crescendo. They’ve gone 20-3 across their last 23 games and climbed to the second seed in the West.
Admittedly, Utah’s schedule wasn’t the strongest during this stretch. However, its performance is nonetheless impressive as they now rank seventh in offensive rating, eighth in defensive rating and are one of three teams to own a winning percentage above .700.
Moreover, in the first of a slew of games against top opponents, the Jazz showed they can close out games and win in crunch time during yesterday’s matinee matchup with the Dallas Mavericks.
Given their place in the standings, the Jazz are deserving of two All-Star spots, and to decide who gets the nod you can look no further than Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. While these two are certainly not the only reasons for Utah’s recent success, Gobert is the heart and soul of this Jazz team, and Mitchell is the number one offensive option on a top ten offense.
Against Dallas, Gobert came up huge with a chase-down block on Delon Wright down the stretch. Mitchell had a clutch step-back three, a timely drive and dish to Royce O’Neale for a crucial corner three and he sank two free throws to ice the game.
Rudy Gobert recovers to make an emphatic block, earning y our Heads Up Play of the Day! pic.twitter.com/9Q0hOk840D
— NBA TV (@NBATV) January 26, 2020
The fact that the Stifle Tower has yet to hit the hardwood during the main event of the All-Star weekend festivities is particularly egregious given his past accolades and status as one of the best centers in the league.
Despite making the All-NBA team twice and being named Defensive Player of the Year in each of the past two seasons, an All-Star selection has still eluded Gobert. Although Mitchell doesn’t share the same snub history as Gobert, he’s among the league’s top scorers and is one of the best at his position in both the West and the NBA.
Gobert’s counting stats are excellent, and on the year he’s posting 15.7 points, 14.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game on 68.9 percent shooting.
Unfortunately for Gobert, his greatest impact on the game doesn’t show up on the stat sheet. If the NBA tracked forced U-turns on drives, the French Rejection would be first by a longshot.
His prolific shot-blocking ability serves as a hefty deterrent for would-be attempts in the paint, and his mere presence prevents players from even considering a shot at the rim with frightening frequency.
Some critics cite his lack of defensive ability on the perimeter as a major hole in his game, but Gobert has been extremely disciplined and effective defending off of switches this season.
He uses his length to keep 3-point shooters at bay while positioning himself far enough back to keep from getting blown by. Even when he does get beat, he’s been great at recovering to contest and pin shots into the glass.
https://twitter.com/utahjazz/status/1221236835378065409
During voting for Western Conference front-court starters, Gobert was ranked ninth by his peers and 11th by fans. However, the media gave his performance a tad more recognition, placing him fifth.
His weighted average of nine thus ranked him behind the likes of Nikola Jokic, Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, Brandon Ingram, and Kristaps Porzingis. Among those names, you’d be hard-pressed to find a player more deserving than Gobert.
George has only played in 26 games this season and Melo isn’t even the second-best player on the 11th place Portland Trail Blazers. Ingram has been excellent, but the New Orleans Pelicans sit 12th making it difficult to give him the nod over Gobert.
Porzingis’ 17.1 points per game on 40.1 percent shooting leaves a lot to be desired, especially when his defensive impact isn’t remotely comparable to Gobert’s. Jokic has the best case of any player ranked ahead of Gobert, but Rudy arguably deserves the nod for the final frontcourt spot given his team’s place in the standings.
Even without considering the peers he was voted behind, Gobert objectively remains one of the most impactful players in the league. His 6.6 defensive win shares this year land him at fifth in the NBA, he’s fourth in total blocks, second in total rebounds, first in field goal percentage and first in defensive rating amongst starting centers in the West.
Gobert also defends the most field goal attempts per game in the entire NBA. His 39.6 defensive field goal percent places him third and opponents shoot 7.7 percent worse against Gobert, a number that trails only Anthony Davis in the entire league.
Gobert not only forces players to reconsider shooting against him but heartily stifles a startling number of looks when players do opt to take a shot. Given that Gobert is far and away the most impactful player on the third-best team by record in the league, he’s more than deserved his first All-Star selection.
https://twitter.com/utahjazz/status/1221237926891155457
Through 44 games, Donovan Mitchell is averaging 24.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game on 459./368./858. shooting splits. Unlike Gobert, Mitchell fared better in All-Star voting, finishing sixth in player voting, seventh in fan voting, and tied for fourth in media voting for a weighted average of sixth, placing him behind Damian Lillard and Russell Westbrook, and tying him with Devin Booker.
Based on traditional counting stats, Mitchell doesn’t exactly have the edge over the other three. Given that there are two guard spots up for grabs still in addition to the two wild-card spots, he’ll have some leeway to claim an All-Star slot.
Mitchell’s advantage over the others comes primarily from the fact that he’s arguably the best defender of the four and his offensive output is only marginally lower, which is excusable given that he plays the least minutes per game.
Mitchell ranks ahead of his main competitors in defensive rating and net rating, and he only trails Lillard by 0.2 points and Booker by 1.2 points in offensive rating. His 5.6 defensive win shares this season lead the four, and the only one remotely close to Mitchell is Westbrook at 5.1 (Lillard has 3.0 and Booker has 2.9). Mitchell is also third in the NBA in points scored in clutch time, and of the four he has the highest plus/minus and the most points scored in the fourth quarter.
Mitchell is capable of taking over when it counts, and Utah’s record reflects just how impactful Spida can be. Given Mitchell’s overall performance this season, it certainly isn’t too far-fetched to expect him to claim either one of the final two guard spots or one of the two wild-card spots that are up for grabs, which might finally give some validation to Utah’s dynamic duo.