After the 2018-19 season, I listened to a podcast where Jazz announcer and BB Guru, David Locke made a surprisingly compelling case why Rudy Gobert should have been considered for MVP with James Harden. He pointed out that while fans obsess on offensive numbers, Gobert’s defense was so good that he was #2 in Win Shares despite his major offensive shortcomings. But Locke’s defensive analysis is what stayed with me.
Locke was one of the first guys I heard to stress the importance of rim deterrence. He pointed out that the shots at the rim were the most valuable FGAs in the game because of their efficiency. Gobert reduces the efficiency of the shots they take, but his real strength is discouraging the
attempts. Each game, he forces teams to take several, less efficient, shots outside the paint.
Today, I love seeing Rudy continue to impact the game in the same way. I smile at every one of those times an opposing scorer simply bails out on trying to get to the rim against Gobert (“never minds!”

). I am impressed at Rudy’s willingness and ability to come out and challenge three point shooting. We need to get a back up, but I love seeing tweets like this that recognize Rudy’s impact on this team.