Rudy Gobert Is Showing Why He’s The Most Valuable Jazz
On a team with no well-defined star, there is an age-old debate. Who is the best player on {insert team name}? Take the Utah Jazz for instance. One of the NBA’s most successful franchises is in another era of Western Conference excellence.
With a high-powered offense featuring enough shooting to make any 40-year old pass out, the Jazz are at the cutting edge of analytics. The next logical thing to do is to find the leading scorer of the Jazz, the guy behind all this scoring. Behind this door, labeled ‘You’re Stupid, Why Are You Doing This?‘, you will find Donovan Mitchell.
The 2x All-Star is one of the best scoring guards in the league. Having him as the best player on the Jazz isn’t shameful. Some might argue that Mitchell is the best player on this Jazz team.
But there’s a reason that door was labeled ‘You’re Stupid, Why Are You Doing This?’. You see, there’s this other side of the ball called defense. It’s easy to ignore this side because it’s not fun. No sane person exits a basketball thinking about the great defense. No, they’re thinking about all the points scored.
As the great Sun Tzu once said, “You must not allow your opponent to score more than you to win.” Old Tzu might have had a point there. While Mitchell can put the ball in the basket better than anybody on the Jazz, Rudy Gobert is better at stopping buckets than anybody on the Jazz.
On a team with no other good defenders, Gobert has single-handily propped up Utah’s defense to look comparable to their offense. With Gobert sidelined over the past few games, ironically with health and safety protocols, the Jazz have been pitiful.
The offense hasn’t skipped a beat, but the defense has fallen off into Salt Lake. These past few games have shown us why Rudy Gobert is the most valuable player on the Jazz.
The Jazz Defense With Rudy Gobert
With Rudy Gobert, there’s no need to worry about defense. The Jazz don’t have any good perimeter defenders, but that doesn’t matter in the regular season. Gobert anchors the paint, affecting more shots than anybody in the league.
In the 37 games the Jazz have played this season with Gobert, they have a 108.3 defensive rating. That would rank near the top 10 in the NBA, which isn’t bad. In five games without Gobert this season, the Jazz are not only 1-4. They also have a defensive rating of 122.8.
With Rudy Gobert, the Jazz are a respectable defense. Without him, they would the worst defensive team in the NBA by a country mile. That speaks volumes to how desperately Utah needs someone like Gobert.
Need more reasons to believe that Gobert is the most valuable Jazz (MVJ)? Don’t worry, I’ve come well prepared.
| The Jazz Defense With Rudy Gobert (37 games) | The Jazz Defense Without Rudy Gobert (5 Games) |
| 106.1 PPG Allowed | 118.6 PPG Allowed |
| 44.2% opp FG | 50.2% opp FG |
| 47.1 opp PITP | 51.6 opp PITP |
| 14.9 opp Restricted Area FGM | 18.6 opp Restricted Area FGM |
| 65.7% opp Restricted Area FG | 74.4% opp Restricted Area FG |
As you can see, the Jazz are a completely different defensive team with and without the Stifle Tower. Gobert might get hate for his massive contract, but in all honestly, he deserves every penny the Jazz are giving him. On a team with no other good defenders, it’s a miracle they aren’t near the bottom of the league defensively.
The Jazz Defense Without Rudy Gobert
I’ve already shown you some eye-opening stats of the Jazz defense without Gobert. They allow teams to make 3/4 shots right the rim, which is beyond bad. Over the last five games, the defense has not been pretty. Let’s go over some film, shall we?
January 5th
Against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets, the Jazz managed to snag their only win of the non-Gobert-era. However, I don’t think the Jazz can thank their defense for this win.
A Denver team relying on spare parts still managed 109 points on 48% shooting. The Jazz only forced 12 turnovers. The Nuggets had 56 points in the paint, Jokic accounting for 18 of those.
The Jazz won this game by simply following this manta, “Your best defense is your offense.” As a Blazers fan, I can back this statement up.
Clip of the game;
Imagine if Rudy Gobert were Bojan Bogdanovic in this clip. Davon Reed wouldn’t have gotten this easy of a look if that were the case.
January 7th
With no fans in the stands against Toronto, the Jazz were smoked. Toronto scored 122 points on 45% shooting from the field. The Jazz again couldn’t force any mistakes, with Toronto having just seven turnovers on the night.
The Raptors scored 52 points in the paint, 18 of them coming from Boucher and Precious Achiuwa. Not to mention that Toronto had 19 offensive rebounds leading to 26 points.
Clip of the game;
Hassan Whiteside just standing there and watching the ball is somehow not the worst thing he did this week.
January 8th
Domantas Sabonis scored a career-high 42 points on 82% shooting from the field in this game. Sabonis alone had 24 points in the paint, eating up space down low against a cardboard-like Jazz frontline.
This was the game when most people realized that Rudy Gobert might be somewhat important to the success of the Jazz.
January 10th
Peak Hassan Whiteside
January 12th
The Cavs and their one million 7-footers lumbered into town last night. Evan Mobley was 7/9 from the field. Jarrett Allen was 8/11. Lamar Stevens attacked the rim with ease. They dropped 60 points in the paint against the Jazz, a great epitome to not having Gobert on the floor.
The Jazz have lost by double-digits in each of their last four games. Aside from Cleveland, the teams they’re playing aren’t great. Yet, they’ve been outscored by a combined 62 points in those four contests. Teams are just getting to the rim with ease. There is no resistance, as this Jazz defense is porous.
Whenever Gobert comes back from health and safety protocols, the Jazz have to welcome him back with a big hug.
The Jazz Should (consider) Helping Rudy Gobert
The Jazz continue their search for good defenders. They need some sort of help for Gobert, who desperately needs another plus defender to bear the weight of this burden. Royce O’Neale is the best non-Gobert defender on this team, and that’s a scary thought for the playoffs.
The Jazz don’t have a lot of tradeable assets, which is why I’ve said that I don’t like them. They are stuck with this team. Already over the luxury tax, they are paying a team to score, not to play defense. There are options, but I don’t know if they have the assets to make a move.
Trade Targets For The Jazz
- Kyle Anderson (MEM) – Would the Grizzlies trade with Utah, a foe in the West? No. But Anderson should help this team greatly. Anderson would be a true rental, but he’s relatively cheap at $9.9 million. A trade package for the versatile forward could look something like this;
Jazz Receive: Kyle Anderson – 2024 FRP Pick (via Warriors)
Grizzlies Receive: Rudy Gay – Hassan Whiteside – Joe Ingles – Elijah Hughes
The Jazz would be losing two key players in their rotation; Ingles and Gay, in this move. That first-rounder won’t amount to much since it’s from the Warriors. With no moveable assets, the Jazz will have to do addition by subtraction to get someone like Kyle Anderson. That’s even if the Grizzlies would do this, which I highly doubt.
- Robert Covington (POR) – As a Blazers fans, with the season lost, I think Robert Covington is on the trading block. After moving two first-round picks for the versatile forward, things haven’t worked out. Covington hasn’t been great, but he’s certainly not the answer. He’s another expiring contract, getting $12.9 million this season. Covington seems like the ideal return for the Jazz;
Jazz Receive: Robert Covington – Dennis Smith Jr. – 2027 FRP
Blazers Receive: Rudy Gay – Joe Ingles
The Blazers are in a similar boat as Utah. They don’t have appealing assets. The Blazers shouldn’t move Covington unless they’re getting at least one first-round pick back. I don’t think this trade package from the Blazers would excite Utah at all, who are again losing two key role players. This is what happens when you decide to go all-in on a flawed team, kids.
- Davion Mitchell (SAC) – Davion Mitchell is one of the best defenders in the NBA. Even as a rookie, he is so aggressive on the perimeter. He’s wrecked havoc, both at Baylor and with the Kings. With the Kings having a crowded backcourt, it’s not impossible to see Mitchell get traded. Again, the problem is with the assets the Jazz have, or don’t have in this case.
Jazz Receive: Davion Mitchell
Kings Receive: Rudy Gay – 2023 FRP – 2026 Lottery Protected FRP
I would laugh hysterically if the Kings did this trade.
Conclusio
Rudy Gobert is the reason the Jazz are good. Without him, Utah would be closely related to the Charlotte Hornets. All offense, no defense, and minimal success.
There’s a reason the Jazz have been falling apart at the seams without Gobert. His defensive impact is likely the greatest in the league. Nobody can do what he does on a nightly basis. This is why, in my mind, he’s the most valuable player the Jazz have.
Sorry, Spida.
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