Defending without Rudy Gobert becomes even tougher for the Jazz with the Greek Freak coming to town

For once, the knee that’s most important to the Utah Jazz defense doesn’t belong to Rudy Gobert.

Milwaukee All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo’s knee soreness, which kept him out of Wednesday’s game, might be the biggest factor in how the Jazz scheme for taking down the on-the-rise Eastern Conference team. If he’s ready to play, as is expected so far, the Jazz will have to prepare for one of the most athletic, fastest and longest-limbed players in the NBA.

And they’ll have to do it without Gobert, their own rangy freak of nature.

That’s nothing new for the Jazz, who have played seven games without Gobert. But the defensive matchup emphasizes the challenge for a Jazz team that has been built on the foundation of Gobert’s rim intimidation. While two blowouts of at least 30 points in the last three games have helped instill some confidence in Utah’s defense, coach Quin Snyder emphasizes that the Jazz still are learning how it’s all supposed to work without their big man.

“It’s like having a football team: You’re a passing team and suddenly you become a running team,” Snyder said. “Who your quarterback is and who your running backs are impact that, but more than anything you’ve got a line that’s pass blocking as opposed to run blocking. That’s a part of it with different principles and different points of emphasis on similar coverages.”

Utah still is turning over opponents more than any other team in the league (17.5 turnovers per game), but players on the perimeter universally acknowledge that they’ve had to be more solid in their on-ball defense.

While Derrick Favors and Ekpe Udoh both have gotten at least a block in each of the last seven games, they don’t deter players from entering the lane like Gobert does. With Gobert off the floor, opponents shoot 50.3 percent inside the arc as opposed to 46.9 percent when he’s playing. Opponents also take a higher ratio of 2-point shots when Gobert is out (69.1 percent) than when he’s in (65.7 percent).

“When you lose that, it changes everything for your team,” Rodney Hood said. “We’ve played well in spurts defensively. I think we just gotta be a lot more active. That’s something we gotta keep doing.”

One of the biggest benefits in Utah’s favor is that the Jazz are home this week. The Jazz only only had one practice without Gobert before Friday’s practice. Being able to run drills to get Utah’s habits to be more instinctive is key to stringing together performances like the ones the Jazz had against Orlando and Chicago in the last week.

But even with all the preparation in the world, the challenge of the 6-foot-11 Antetokounmpo is his speed and size. He can cover ground faster than a guard with only a few strides. The Greek Freak is among the top 10 scorers on drives in the league, according to NBA stats, and the only player who is shooting better than his 60.3 percent on driving attempts is LeBron James.

Jazz players compared Antetokounmpo, an early season MVP candidate who started the year with a bang, to James for his top-end athletic ability. But Snyder also said the Jazz have played a similar player this year in Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons.

That’s not exactly an encouraging comparison. Simmons blitzed Utah, particularly in Monday’s game without Gobert protecting the lane. The Jazz struggled to figure out how to stop the 6-10 point guard’s charges to the rim, and all 13 of his field goals came within 19 feet or less. He finished with 27 points.

If they had that much trouble with a rookie, Antetokounmpo’s experience only could add to the complexity of that challenge. It doesn’t help that his wide skillset could mean he’ll have to be guarded at as many as four positions.

“Just trying to make it as hard as possible on both ends of the floor for him,” Jonas Jerebko said. “Just stay close, always contest his shots and we’ve got a few game plan things that we’re going to put on him, and it’s up to whoever’s guarding him to make it count.”

Antetokounmpo’s history against the Jazz is mixed. He averaged 21 points in two meetings last year, both losses. He was only 2 for 10 in one game, and it might be related to Gobert’s double-double performance in the game. Antetokounmpo didn’t get much help from his teammates in the second meeting in which he went 10 for 16 for 33 points in Milwaukee.

That might be the best Utah can hope for Saturday— limit his supporting cast and get the win. But however they fare in the upcoming game, it could be a marker for future expectations — for better or worse.