The Utah Jazz are under immense pressure to show progress in the Playoffs this season. The team have been playoff regulars for the last half-decade, but are yet to qualify past the second round in the Western Conference. They had a shot last season, but defensive breakdowns in their second-round series against the LA Clippers meant that the Clippers would win the series in 6 despite Kawhi Leonard tearing his ACL in Game 4.
After the Dallas Mavericks beat the Jazz without Luka Doncic in Game 2 of this year’s first-round, many people have already started discussing whether the Jazz can even beat Dallas without Luka. A lot of the blame will fall on Rudy Gobert, as evidenced by Stephen A. Smith talking about the Jazz on ESPN.
Accompanies by former Mavericks guard J.J. Redick, Smith had a lot to say about the Jazz, saying that the team makes him sick, before blaming Rudy Gobert for their defensive struggles and calling for him to be benched.
“I can’t stand the Utah Jazz, they make me sick. I love the new owner and I love where their heart is. I love the fact my brother D-Wade is a part of that ownership, and I love me some Donovan Mitchell. He’s something special. I can’t stand anything else. I can’t stand this team because they always always wet the bed.
“Luka Doncic is out. You have good players on Dallas like Dorian Finney-Smith and Jalen Brunson, but Doncic and Tim Hardaway Jr. are out. It’s a playoff game and Brunson dropped 40? He’s a good player, but 41 points? This is what Utah does. Every time you expect something from them, they let you down.”
“Stevie Wonder can see that Rudy Gobert can’t cover anybody because they’ve got perimeter shooters. Why is he out there? Same problem last year when they were going against the Clippers. Styles make fights, get him off the floor. You’ve gotta go small, you can’t keep doing this.”
Stephen. A isn’t wrong in trying to criticize Rudy Gobert when we see teams isolate Gobert on the perimeter and try to score. Brunson did it to great effect in Game 2 and Terrance Mann had notably done this to the Jazz last playoffs. However, to blame Gobert is a little unfair considering his tremendous impact on the offensive glass and rim protection. Gobert is averaging a mammoth 17 rebounds a game through the first two contests against the Mavericks.
I’m at a loss for words every time I watch the defenders not named Rudy Gobert on the Utah Jazz man. pic.twitter.com/FEeKSHsyZN
— Pranav Sriraman (@PranavSriraman) April 19, 2022
Redick responded with a very balanced opinion, pointing out the flaws in the Jazz perimeter defense while also understanding that the Jazz don’t have the personnel to play a small-ball five, which means they have to use Gobert in important situations.
“Having Rudy Gobert on the floor is a little bit of a Catch 22. We’ve seen teams go small in the Playoffs because either he is unable to punish switches against smaller players or Utah is unable to give him the ball, not saying one or the other.”
“Utah has no one who can guard on the ball. Royce O’Neal is probably their best perimeter defender, and he’s done a fine job historically. But outside of that, they don’t have anyone that can contain the dribble. When you’re playing against a team like Dallas who can continuously break down defenses, what choice do you have but leave Gobert on the floor?”
They don’t have the perimeter personnel. Who is the liability? It’s not Gobert because Gobert has cleaned up a lot of the mess of their perimeter defense. He’s done that over and over again. He is one of the best defensive players in NBA history and that is a fact.”
this has been a dominant defensive showing from rudy gobert btw.
dallas wants nothing to do with the paint.
— Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) April 16, 2022
This dilemma between playing small or playing with Gobert is a massive question for the Jazz. They don’t have the players that can step into that role and be high-level contributors in the playoffs. The team needs to put Gobert in a better position to succeed through better perimeter defense. In the regular season, Rudy gets to pack the paint and cover the sloppy Jazz perimeter and stop players from driving and finishing at the cup.
Outside Rudy, players like Donovan Mitchell also need to be held to task. While his scoring average of 33.0 PPG looks impressive, he has been doing the same with terrible shooting efficiency. With Luka Doncic coming back latest by Game 4, the Jazz need to hope they can pull off a win in Game 3 to get some breathing room in this series. Otherwise, it may be an off-season of change in Utah.
