Post#16 » by HawaiianJazzFan » Sun Jan 4, 2015 5:05 am
OK, time for one of my slightly homerish Gobert posts. Gobert is a monster at 22 and the only truly untouchable player the Jazz have, he is finally getting minutes as last year he only played 45 games and usually just a few minuters per night.
Tonight was just his 3rd start and he had 13pts, 11 boards, 6 blocks, 1 ast, 1 stl. He is currently rated the best defender in the NBA at the rim already. He was 4th and has moved up the more minutes he has gotten and is just slightly ahead of Bogut (the top 6 are Gobert, Bogut, Hibbert, Ibaka, and Howard):
[url]http://stats.nba.com/tracking/#!/player/defense/?sort=FGP_DEFEND_RIM&dir=-1&CF=MIN*G*15%7CBLK*G*1[/url]
The opponents are shooting 38.9% at the rim when Gobert is on the floor. The Jazz defend 12.9 points per 100 possessions better when Rudy is on the floor as opposed to when he isn't. That is an insane number and I don't think anyone else in the NBA is close. If you aren't familiar with how big that is... the difference between the best defensive team (the Warriors) and the worst (the Lakers) is 13.5 points per 100 possessions. The exciting thing about Rudy is how agile he is for his size. He could be like an Eaton that you don't have to hide on offense. Jerry Sloan watches the Jazz pre draft workouts and one of the reasons that the Jazz drafted Rudy is Sloan said he has never seen a guy that size with the motor that Gobert has.
Maybe the most exciting aspect of Rudy's game is his passing and FT shooting. He is a much better passer than I thought he could be. He was dunked on earlier this year (it wasn't the Vince Carter one) and they asked him about it after the game, and he said "I would still jump the next time to try and block that dunk." I think he would really benefit having a player who could throw and setup a decent lob pass, as he is not utilized very well with that, and that isn't one of Trey's strengths. He is already a top 10 offensive rebounder by pct and a decent defensive rebounder, but if he adds some weight, he won't be pushed around as much, and could improve even more.