Toronto • Dennis Schröder thought he had made it past the great human tower planted in the middle of the paint. He had dashed around Rudy Gobert rather — because through is impossible — and threw up a layup as he neared the baseline.
Smack.
Schröder’s shot attempt died, and Gobert claimed another rejection.
The play on Monday night against the Atlanta Hawks served as a reminder that the NBA is getting used to the 7-foot-1 center patrolling the lane again. Averaging three blocks per game since his return from a knee injury five games ago, Gobert has reassumed his role as one of the most feared rim protectors in the NBA — and it probably isn’t a coincidence that the Utah Jazz are 3-2 in that stretch.
Gobert’s teammates have had to adjust, too; because of a pair of injury stints, the Jazz have played more games without Gobert than with him this season. The shifting lineups due to injuries has continued with his return, but after a 97-93 win at the Toronto Raptors on Friday, Gobert said he’s feeling like the team is getting used to playing with him as a backstop on defense.
“There were a few games where guys tried to overhelp when I was there, and we gave up too many threes,” he said. “Now we can really, the last two games, guys are standing in the corner and allowing me to defend the paint. When we do that, we’re pretty good.”
There’s a strong temptation to question Gobert’s judgement based solely on the stat lines of his opposing big men recently: The Pistons’ Andre Drummond had 30 points, and the Raptors’ Jonas Valanciunas had 28. But in both games, the teams were held to under 100 points, and while the bigs had sensational games, the perimeter stars — Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Tobias Harris — have had below-average nights.
Gobert’s presence allows perimeter defenders to be more physical and aggressive. Ricky Rubio, who hassled Lowry, an All-Star, into five points and five turnovers, said it makes a huge difference.
“On the help side, you don’t have to help as much and you can just focus on your man,” he said. “We’re just trying to change a little bit. It’s great for us.”
Another factor of Gobert that translates to Utah’s locker room: His will.
In the postgame, Gobert dismissed such things as a defensive rating that place Utah outside of the top 10 in the league this season.
“I think we’re the best defensive team in the league, even if right now the ratings don’t show that because of our injuries,” he said. “The goal is to be the best defensive team in the league from now until the end of the season.”
Gobert isn’t shy about roping teammates into that notion. While the Jazz defense has played well of late, the season has been inconsistent overall. Even as Gobert returned, the Jazz gave up more than 110 points in back-to-back games against the Knicks and the Clippers. Some of the struggles can be tied to injuries, such as losing defensive specialist Thabo Sefolosha, and some can be tied to the weight of trade rumors hovering around the team.
But Gobert has a way of brushing aside excuses. Donovan Mitchell has asked veterans for advice about different things, and Gobert has talked to him about defense and making the right play. But most of all, he talks about competitiveness.
Mitchell said the two first bonded after he helped lead a Summer League victory over the Boston Celtics, during which he guarded No. 3 overall pick Jayson Tatum. Gobert was one of the first to reach out to him in a text, calling it “impressive.”
“He hates losing,” Mitchell said. “That’s the biggest thing that I feed off of from him. That was one of the first things that brought us together.”
The two together is a comforting thought for the Jazz as they find themselves on the outside of the playoff race. Quin Snyder said playing without Gobert was, in a way, positive for Mitchell, because it forced him to be more attentive and disciplined on the defensive end. But as two long-term pieces of the franchise, it’s important for the Jazz to see how they play together.
If two wins on the road this week are indicative of how the rest of the season could go, things are trending up for the Jazz. And that’s what they’ve come to expect when Gobert is in the game.
“I think as Rudy’s grown and matured, he’s learned more and more about how to communicate with his teammates,” Snyder said. “His resolve, his competitiveness and his will to win is something that permeates.”
