Rudy Gobert is still dealing with doubters — and he's still proving them wrong


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SALT LAKE CITY — During the Clippers television broadcast on Monday, broadcasters Ralph Lawler and Don MacLean held a lengthy conversation about defensive player of the year.

One name never crossed their lips: Rudy Gobert.

Yes, the NBA's reigning Defensive Player of the Year was never mentioned. He probably will next time they hold the discussion. Gobert was hard to ignore during Utah’s 129-109 win over Clippers Wednesday.

“Let me know next time they talk about it,” Gobert tweeted following Utah's win.

Gobert put up 23 points, 16 rebounds while dominating on the defensive end. He blocked four shots, altered plenty more and grabbed 16 defensive rebounds. The Clippers more or less tried to avoid him as much as they could. Gobert changed how the Clippers wanted to play. LAC entered the game averaging over 28 free throws per game; they had just 14 against the Jazz.

“No one’s going to give the guy enough credit anyway,” Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said before the game. “If you gave him a point for every time he had a defensive stop, he would average 40 a night, and to me, no one does that. So you don’t get credit. Rudy could have a game of 5 points and 15 rebounds and people would say, 'well, what did he do?' He really created 40 points by getting stops and they’re going the other way.”

And on the nights he puts up massive numbers, anyway? Well, good luck to Utah opponents. Gobert has scored 39 points and pulled down 47 rebounds over the last two games — both Utah wins.

“He’s just being aggressive,” Donovan Mitchell said. “That’s why we love him. He’s blocking shots, he’s running the floor, he’s doing it all.”

And Gobert is making a strong case to be considered an All-Star — even if he, as Rivers said, doesn’t quite get the credit he deserves.

After Utah’s win over the Detroit Pistons on Monday, Gobert made a joking quip at Mitchell during his walk-off interview. As Mitchell walked behind him, Gobert jokingly told Donovan to pass the ball.

The beauty of Gobert, though, is he doesn’t need the ball (and with the way Mitchell has been playing, no one really wants to see him shoot less). Gobert shot only 10 times on Wednesday — and scored 23 points. He was 7-of-10 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Gobert has becoming harder and harder to control rolling to the rim and the pressure he puts on defenses opens up passing lanes everywhere on the court.

Gobert leads the league in field goal percentage because it’s pretty hard to stop a 7-foot-1 center with a near endless standing reach from dunking the ball. He’s either going to slam it or he’s going to get fouled. There’s not a whole lot of other options.

But has Gobert been doing anything different over the last two games? Not to his teammates. Just the numbers are easier to see.

“I don't know what he is,” Royce O’Neale said. “He is the same Rudy to me. He’s doing a great job.”

The same Rudy, leading the same dominant defense. Utah’s defensive rating has been the best in the league since Nov. 16 — and if the recent trend of dominant defensive performances continues (something that is looking more and more likely), the Jazz will soon have the top defense for the entire season.

“Our goal, I think we dug in after the first month and got even more focused defensively,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “Defense is the thing we can count on.”

Well, defense and Rudy Gobert.

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