The man responsible for the way that Rudy Gobert is deployed defensively is responding to a recent criticism from an opposing team on the matter.
Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder responded Thursday to the recent shade at Gobert from Minnesota Timberwolves players Patrick Beverley and Anthony Edwards. They questioned why Gobert did not exclusively guard Karl-Anthony Towns and threw other personal shots at the Jazz center.
“Everybody’s entitled to their views and opinions,” said Snyder, per Eric Walden of the Salt Lake Tribune. “From my standpoint, every team’s game plan is based on how to attack Rudy. Or how not to attack Rudy. … Sometimes we’re having to find ways to get him involved defensively.”
The shade from Beverley and Edwards was weird for plenty of reasons. For one, Gobert might have been able to guard Towns more often if foul trouble had not limited him to just 31 minutes on Wednesday. For another, the Jazz have themselves plenty of capable one-on-one defenders like Royce O’Neale, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Mike Conley. That means that they can change up their defensive looks and adjust to mismatches such as Towns (who can hit the three) instead of relying on a one-dimensional approach. Additionally, the Jazz defeated Minnesota in a 136-104 drubbing for their fifth straight win. They obviously have to be doing something right.
The seven-foot Gobert is one of the best rim protectors the NBA has seen in the last decade. That elite skill has earned him three total Defensive Player of the Year Awards. While there have been some examples of Gobert getting exploited (such as by the LA Clippers going five-out in last year’s playoffs), more often than not, opposing ballhandlers choose to not even challenge him in the paint. It is almost similar to the NFL’s shutdown cornerbacks of years past like Darrelle Revis and Richard Sherman. Eventually, opposing quarterbacks would not even throw their way at all, making it seem like their impact was lesser than it actually was. Continuing with that analogy, you never saw anybody throwing shade at those cornerbacks and questioning their defensive ability because they couldn’t also rush the quarterback.
Unfortunately, the shade from the Timberwolves is part of a long history of Gobert not getting his due from opponents. That leaves Snyder and others to have to defend Gobert over his true impact.
Photo: Feb 24, 2020; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) warms up before the game against the Phoenix Suns at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports
