Utah Jazz

Utah Jazz: The importance of Rudy Gobert

Published Dec. 10, 2015 6:57 p.m. ET

foxsports

Even after a decisive 106-85 win over the New York Knicks Wednesday night, the Utah Jazz have a problem on their hands.

The Jazz will continue to have a problem until center Rudy Gobert returns to the lineup. The 7-foot-1 center has missed a week after sustaining a grade II sprain of the MCL in his left knee during practice on Wednesday, December 2nd. Gobert will not require surgery, but is expected to miss six to eight weeks in order to allow the injury to heal.

Rudy Gobert has proven to be an elite force in the center of Utah’s defense by blocking 37 shots so far this season. During the first 16 games of the season, the Jazz allowed just 36.6 points per game in the paint.

However, that number has increased to 42.5 in the four games they have been without him.

Without Gobert to patrol the middle of the defense, the Jazz have a record of 2-2 after dropping a contest at home against the Orlando Magic and one at the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday. In the four games Gobert missed, Utah was outscored by a total of 170-150 in the paint.

The Jazz were allowing an average of 88.5 points per game before Gobert’s injury, but have given up 105.3 points per game since.

The Jazz have shown over the course of the season that they are not a team built to outscore opponents, but need a defensive presence to stop them from scoring. Utah sits dead last in the NBA for pace, averaging 92.6 possessions per 48 minutes.

Having won the latest NBA title, the Golden State Warriors are the current standard in the league and they’re running a pace of 99.1 possessions per 48 minutes. Not a bad thing to consider with the Warriors sitting at 23-0.

By running such a slow offense, Utah needs to maximize stops on the defensive end and what has proven to make this the most affective is Gobert’s presence.

Derrick Favors has slid into the center position, but doesn’t provide the same defensive prowess of Gobert. In the time since Gobert’s injury, Favors has averaged 10.3 rebounds and 0.5 blocks per game.

Gobert provides the Jazz with average of 10.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. The extra two blocks per game provided by Gobert lead to countless other shots in the paint that are off target from his presence in the area.

The Jazz ran away with a game at home against the Knicks Wednesday, but the upcoming schedule will not be so friendly. The rest of December Utah will face teams with strong inside scoring in the likes of the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, LA Clippers, and New Orleans Pelicans.

In the 11 games to play the rest of the year, Utah could go 4-7 taking them to 14-17 heading into the new year.

The Jazz need Rudy Gobert to return healthy for any chance at competing in the Western Conference, otherwise the lack of defensive presence will be too much for a team lacking in offensive fire power to overcome.

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