Rudy Gobert is one of the best defensive big men in the game. There’s no doubt that he’s a fantastic rim protector, and sometimes his mere presence is enough to deter opposing players from attempting a shot at the rim. On the offensive end, he is also a great lob finisher on the interior. Currently, Rudy Gobert is averaging 15.4 PPG, 14.8 RPG, and 1.1 APG, while also shooting an astounding 71.1% from the field.
Despite his abilities, there are a lot of NBA players that don’t necessarily respect Rudy Gobert’s defense. Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards even claimed that Rudy Gobert puts “no fear” into him when protecting the rim.
I don’t get why we couldn’t finish on Rudy Gobert. He don’t put no fear in my heart. I don’t know why.
While there are obviously some detractors who don’t believe in Rudy Gobert’s defensive abilities, a recent stat shows just how much the Utah Jazz rely on him to anchor their defense. In a Reddit post, user tdotshark revealed that starting PF Bojan Bogdanovic only has 12 blocks over the last 3 seasons, which shows that they rely on Rudy Gobert to provide the rim protection for the entire team.
The Jazz are so reliant on Rudy Gobert’s defence, that their starting PF Bojan Bogdanovic has 12 total blocks over the past 3 seasons combined.
Bojan Bogdanovic has also never recorded more than 10 blocks in an ENTIRE season despite playing 63+ games each year in his 7 year career. This season he has just ONE BLOCK in 30 minutes per games in 64 games.
It’s understandable playing with Rudy Gobert, and him being 6’7, but is this an indicator of how overreliant the Jazz are on Rudy Gobert on defence, and why they’re always going to be an easy team to crack in the playoffs?
The Utah Jazz don’t currently have many other elite defenders aside from Rudy Gobert. Perhaps providing Rudy Gobert with some help on the defensive end could make the Jazz’s defense more versatile and make them less reliant on him to protect the rim.
Even though they may have flaws as a team, the Utah Jazz are currently the 4th seed with a 43-26 record. They still have a good defense, and hopefully, this is the year they can make a deep playoff run.
