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Utah Jazz superstar Donovan Mitchell was in awe of his fellow All-Star teammate Rudy Gobert's block party against the Chicago Bulls on Monday. Mitchell, however, was also left baffled by Zach LaVine and the Bulls' insistence on attacking the paint, knowing well that the Stifle Tower will be there to deny every shot.
Gobert finished with a career-high nine rejections on top of his 21 points and 10 rebounds in the Jazz's 120-95 rout of the Bulls at United Center. After the game, Mitchell claimed the Bulls had it coming since they kept challenging the two-time Defensive Player of the Year right in his wheelhouse (via The Salt Lake Tribue's Eric Walden).
Donovan Mitchell, on the Bulls going into the lane to challenge Rudy Gobert: "They kept trying to attack him — I don’t know why. I wouldn’t."
— tribjazz (@tribjazz) March 23, 2021
Considering the game today has become more outside-oriented more than ever, it's a breath of fresh air to see the Bulls still trying their best to score easy points inside. But as Mitchell mentioned, with a defensive force like Gobert patrolling the paint, most pundits won't fault the Bulls if they focused on shooting three-pointers instead.
The 7'2″ Gobert, who was recently shaded by Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons for lack of defensive versatility, recorded nine of the Jazz's 10 blocks.
Donovan Mitchell, meanwhile, did his job on the other end of the floor, scoring a game-high 30 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field, along with six rebounds and six assists.
Rudy Gobert is second in the NBA in blocks per game behind Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers, rejecting 2.8 per night. Sure, we've seen the Stifle Tower get dunked on from time to time, but it won't stop him from altering every shot he could.
