He’s just been a relentless presence on both sides of the floor, and his play is a huge reason the Jazz have been able to survive an early collective shooting funk. His individual defense speaks for itself. He’s always been a great rebounder, but this season he’s rebounding a bit more outside of his area.
He’s always been an elite finisher and roll threat to the rim. He’s the best screener in the league, and there’s probably not a close second. What Gobert has done so far this season has been simple: He just keeps refining everything that he does well. It’s interesting that all four are so far on top of their games, all four are playing for either very good teams or title contenders and all four are going to be competing for three All-NBA spots. In terms of centers in the NBA, there are four dominant ones: Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Bam Adebayo and Gobert. Not many thought Gobert would be that dude, but here we are. Most thought this would be the season Donovan Mitchell steps forward and takes a jump at superstar status. The dominance on both ends of the floor has been vast enough that the Jazz are 5-1 heading into Tuesday night’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings all without shooting the ball well collectively, or even playing at nearly peak efficiency offensively as a unit. As always, he’s blocking almost two shots per game. His PER is 28.65, which is sixth in the league. He’s averaging 16 points per night, which would represent a career-high. He’s currently leading the league in rebounding at 17 boards per night. If the first six games of the season mean anything - and often they don’t in terms of larger sample size - we might be seeing the best season of Gobert’s career. Rudy Gobert is 29, and will hit the big 3-0 next June. Normally, a great player plateaus a bit as that player approaches 30 years old. And here is some analysis of what the Jazz are, but also what they could be as this year progresses. Here are some of the things we are seeing. Here are some observations from the first almost two weeks of the season.
Do they have what it takes to be a great team when it matters? That remains a question that will be omnipresent. It’s been a nice start for the Jazz, but we know the Jazz are a really good basketball team with really good basketball players. At the same time, we are seeing a few trends for a Utah team hoping to finally break through their playoff glass ceiling. That’s a small sample size over a season that lasts until April. By the end of this week, the Utah Jazz will have played seven of their first 10 games away from the confines of Vivint Smart Home Arena.