The Golden State Warriors have recently defeated the Utah Jazz, behind Klay Thompson’s fantastic 36 point performance. There is no doubt that this was a great way to snap a losing streak for the team.
After the game, Klay Thompson commented on the defensive scheme that the Utah Jazz utilized stating that when you see Rudy Gobert “dropping off”, it results in an “easy make”. (1:17)
I could feel I was going to have a big night in the weight room… kept shooting, and I made some ridiculous shots.
Like you said Kelenna, you see Rudy dropping off and it’s just chop your feet and its stop and pop, easy make.
The Utah Jazz generally try to steer offensive players towards the rim, where Rudy Gobert and his rim protection truly shine. However, that doesn’t necessarily work against a team that takes a lot of 3PT shots like the Golden State Warriors, where Rudy Gobert constantly being near the rim leaves someone wide open on the perimeter. Wide-open 3PT shots are generally not viewed as a good shot to give up to a team full of 3PT shooters.
There is no doubt that the Utah Jazz have generally been a good regular season team in years past. However, they have faltered in the playoffs, and have not been beyond the second round during Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert’s tenures on the team. Clippers forward Terance Mann once even called them “regular season animals”.
Hopefully, we figure out a way for the Utah Jazz to get back to winning ways. They have blown some big leads recently, and they desperately need to figure out how to close games if they are to make a deeper playoff run. They do have a generally solid and well-coached team though, so perhaps we’ll see them rally and be able to rattle off some wins to end their regular season
