When Rudy Gobert entered the COVID-19 health and safety protocols early this January, the Utah Jazz realized one thing: they depended defensively on the French big man too much.
Jazz coach Quin Snyder said so as much prior to their showdown with the Phoenix Suns on Monday, revealing that “some guys felt like exposed” on the defensive end in the absence of Gobert.
Quin mentioned that during the stretch that Rudy Gobert missed due to COVID, “some guys felt like exposed” defensively, and came to realize how dependent they had become upon him.
— Eric Walden (@tribjazz) January 25, 2022
It's easy to see why the Jazz felt like that. To recall, Rudy Gobert entered the health and safety protocols on January 6 and in the four games he missed after that, the team lost every outing.
Making matters worse, the Jazz allowed their opponents to score over 120 points each in three occasions, and over 110 on the other. They lost by double-digits in all those contests despite having key offensive weapons in Donovan Mitchell and Jordan Clarkson.
The Jazz are still in the top half of the NBA defensive rating, but they have certainly fallen from their previous standing. Last year, they had the third-highest defensive rating in the league, only to see them fall to 12th this 2021-22.
It is certainly good news for Utah that they have a slew of motivated players ready to prove themselves defensively. As the season goes on and the fight for the playoffs seeding heats up, even the smallest improvements can be crucial.
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