Rudy Gobert: Future DPOY

[HawaiianJazzFan]

Honestly, what might be the most impressive thing about Gobert is that he really doesn't even get tired or played gassed... especially considering how big he is. I mean he played more minutes than any other player tonight on either team (36) and didn't look gassed at all, or sweat much. He has an awesome motor for a big man.

[treefi]

Might be one of the best Centers in the league the year after next.

[Dan Z]

Finally, Mark Eaton was a career .649 shooter from the line and two-time defensive player of the year. He was three times first team All-NBA defensive team. He was (and is) a smart dude who had a great NBA career that was cut short by injuries. Javale McGee should never be mentioned in the same sentence as Eaton.

I haven't thought about Mark Eaton in years and just looked him up. I knew he was a great shot blocker, but had no idea that in 84-85 he played all 82 games and averaged 5.6 blocks per game. Damn.

[Amish Mafioso]

like i said, he is a good prospect and i can see him at 12/9 role player, but he won't be able to play in the fourth and finish games unless its a blow out. he needs to do better than JaVale McGee and Mark Eaton and improve on his free throw shooting

You couldn't be more wrong. He is no longer a prospect. He's a legit player. His offensive numbers are of no consequence. He impacts the game on the defensive side as much as anyone in the game. Yep, I said it. The people who have said DPOY were not exaggerating. Hide and watch.

[stitches]

Rudy is the best rim protector in the NBA right now, and it's not even close:

http://nyloncalculus.com/stats/rim-protection/

He contests the most shots in the restricted area and he has the best success on his contests.

[Revived]

[Mr-Al]

Whatever Gobert's ceiling is, Alex Len's ceiling is higher.

Already showing elite defensive and shot blocking habits

Has something Gobert never will.

A smooooooth Duncan-esque jump shot from anywhere inside the 3pt. line.

Props to Gobert's defensive stats though

[guille_4]

Whatever Gobert's ceiling is, Alex Len's ceiling is higher.

Already showing elite defensive and shot blocking habits

Has something Gobert never will.

A smooooooth Duncan-esque jump shot from anywhere inside the 3pt. line.

Props to Gobert's defensive stats though

Both Len and Gobert are very good prospects.

However, I have to disagree with your remark, in my opinion Gobert has the higher ceiling. 7'2 with a 7'85 wingspan is nuts. He is already very good on the defensive end and physically he still has a lot of room for improvement.

[Mr-Al]

Whatever Gobert's ceiling is, Alex Len's ceiling is higher.

Already showing elite defensive and shot blocking habits

Has something Gobert never will.

A smooooooth Duncan-esque jump shot from anywhere inside the 3pt. line.

Props to Gobert's defensive stats though

Both Len and Gobert are very good prospects.

However, I have to disagree with your remark, in my opinion Gobert has the higher ceiling. 7'2 with a 7'85 wingspan is nuts. He is already very good on the defensive end and physically he still has a lot of room for improvement.

Gobert is freakishly long, but Len is still a 7'1" true center with a 7'4" wingspan and a high offensive/defensive ceiling

What I'm saying is, even if Gobert improves defensively he'll still probably be very limited offensively as well

Even though he has a good free throw %, he really messes with your spacing on offence and has LITERALLY had only one single bucket this year that wasn't made from directly under the rim

Tyson Chandler ceiling - Not bad at all

Even if Len is a step behind Gobert defensively in his prime, he'll be league's ahead offensively and has already shown signs of a three point stroke to add to his midrange game.

Len is more of a Marc Gasol ceiling

[HawaiianJazzFan]

Jimmy Butler fouled him as you can even see on the video, he hit Gobert's left arm... not to mention that to even get to that point, Gobert stole the ball and beat most players down the court.

Whatever Gobert's ceiling is, Alex Len's ceiling is higher.

Already showing elite defensive and shot blocking habits

Elite defensive habits?? No. That is Gobert showing not just elite defensive habits, but DPOY habits. Players are shooting 53% at the rim when Alex Len is defending the rim. He is at an Al Jefferson level, which is by no means elite. He's actually below average as a rim defender for a Center. He is blocking shots but that doesn't mean he is a good defender, let alone elite. Derrick Rose was straight up afraid of Gobert, as was Pau Gasol. It was so bad that Pau Gasol had to camp around the 3 point line to try and get something going. Rudy Gobert statistically, already is the best defender at the rim. Players shoot 38.5% at the rim when he is defending it. He's blocking 2 shots per game right now (4.7 bpg since Kanter's injury) but is altering twice as many as that. I believe Gobert's ceiling is higher than Chandler. Alex Len is a great prospect and at this point to say either one of them is better is crazy. I do know without question that Utah would not trade Gobert for Len. Since Gobert has been getting minutes Utah, the worst defensive team last year, has been playing top 10 defense, and it is almost singlehandedly attributed to Gobert. Gobert seriously has a ceiling (not saying he is going to reach it) of being one of the best defensive forces in NBA history, winning multiple DPOY, we are talking Mutombo like defense if he continues on his trajectory, as Mutombo was 25 his first NBA season. To say that Len definitely is a better prospect is a bit ridiculous, I'd say, as Gobert is impacting the game at a ridiculous level defensively, certainly more than Len is on either side.

[DiscoLives4ever]

Does Rudy have a shot at Rising Stars MVP this year? Has a defense-only player ever won it?

[Yuri Vaultin]

Has something Gobert never will.

Stress fractures just waiting to happen?

I like Len a lot, but there are few players that compare to Gobert on the defensive end, and aside from blocking shots Len really has nothing in common with him on the defensive end. The closest I can think off right now would be an engaged and healthy Sanders from his 4 month amazing stretch a few years ago or maybe Mutombo?

[dautjazz]

Does Rudy have a shot at Rising Stars MVP this year? Has a defense-only player ever won it?

It's a pretty worthless achievement, exhibition game, no one plays defense, it's basically like a practice session with one ball. Can you name many of these award winners? To answer your question though, I doubt Rudy would get it for defense alone. Now he can obviously catch lobs in his sleep, so depending the minutes, he can probably get like a board every 2 minutes or less (high pace game), and if he actually tries on defense, he could probably get a handful of blocks easily with the pace of the game. Problem is, someone will probably catch fire and get crap load of threes, maybe a guard who will handle the ball, and it will be hard to top that. He's definitely got to be in that top 5 candidates. Wiggins, Greak Freak, Burkes, MCW, and Gobert are my top 5 (may be forgetting someone, going off memory).

[MrTwister]

Jimmy Butler fouled him as you can even see on the video, he hit Gobert's left arm... not to mention that to even get to that point, Gobert stole the ball and beat most players down the court.

Whatever Gobert's ceiling is, Alex Len's ceiling is higher.

Already showing elite defensive and shot blocking habits

Derrick Rose was straight up afraid of Gobert, as was Pau Gasol. It was so bad that Pau Gasol had to camp around the 3 point line to try and get something going.

Looks like some wounds are still fresh for Pau as he got owned by Rudy last summer on World Cup in Spain

[TKainZero]

Much better shot blocker than Tyson.

Also a much better athlete than chandler. Chandler is no stiff, but gobert has special athleticism .

The fact he went 27th in a terrible draft is insane. Insane. Any team could have used him.

To be fair, it seems like there's a big guy with Gobert's potential in every draft, and usually they don't pan out.

Like who?
Give a few examples or players picked that have what he has

[StocktonShorts]

Also a much better athlete than chandler. Chandler is no stiff, but gobert has special athleticism .

The fact he went 27th in a terrible draft is insane. Insane. Any team could have used him.

To be fair, it seems like there's a big guy with Gobert's potential in every draft, and usually they don't pan out.

Like who?
Give a few examples or players picked that have what he has

This history of the NBA draft is littered with scores of project big men with "upside" and "wingspan" who never pan out.

Hasheem Thabeet
Hassan Whiteside
Mouhamed Saer Sene
Lucas Nogueira (jury still out on him)

[orlandomanic]

I like Len alittle more than Gobert. He is starting to have a few 5 block games and getting the feel for the NBA speed. He is becoming the defensive anchor for the Suns. He can shoot free throws at his size, great touch and he has away better offensive back to the basket game than Gobert.

I think Gobert could be another McGee or Hibbert, but i think Len has a shot at being another Noah.

[PZiv]

My ceiling projections:
Gobert: Dikembe Mutombo
Len: Rich man's Zydrunas Ilgauskas

[abneriii]

Never seen him play but he is putting up good numbers on my fantasy team. I think he should make one of the All-NBA defensive teams if he keep having those block parties

[veji1]

To be fair, it seems like there's a big guy with Gobert's potential in every draft, and usually they don't pan out.

Like who?
Give a few examples or players picked that have what he has

This history of the NBA draft is littered with scores of project big men with "upside" and "wingspan" who never pan out.

Hasheem Thabeet
Hassan Whiteside
Mouhamed Saer Sene
Lucas Nogueira (jury still out on him)

I would add fellow frenchmen Ajinca and Frederick Weiss (who never even made it to the NBA)