Make no mistake about it, Rudy Gobert is a dominant defensive force. The Utah Jazz star was named the Defensive Player of the Year for the 2020-21 NBA season, his third award in the last four years.

But the problem with having a traditional rim-protecting center is how the game has been geared towards rendering him ineffective. That's hardly worked given that Gobert's mere shadow in the paint automatically deters opposing players from getting off attempts at the rim. In a large sample size during the regular season, Gobert is undeniable.

However, the playoffs are a different story. Teams have schemed against Rudy Gobert in the past, and in a short series where adjustments are made from game to game, the big man's very specific set of skills can be used against him.

Jazz, Rudy Gobert

This aspect of Gobert's game reared its ugly head in the worst way in the Utah Jazz's second-round series. The Clippers do have a traditional big man in Ivica Zubac, but they have the personnel to play small the entire way against the Jazz. In the final two games of their series, that's exactly what they did.

The Clippers played Zubac in over 16 minutes per game during the first four. The big man took the floor in just eight minutes in Game 5 and under six minutes in Game 6. In his stead, Los Angeles deployed either 6-foot-8 Marcus Morris or 6-foot-9 Nicolas Batum as a small ball five. This allowed them to play bombs away against the Jazz, spacing the floor at an extreme rate with above average shooters at every spot.

In Game 6, the Clippers went hard at keying in on the deep ball to counter the at-the-rim impact Rudy Gobert has for the Jazz. Their 13 corner threes seem crazy at a glance, but the Clippers were also the number one three-point shooting team in the NBA during the regular season. They shot a mind-blowing 41.1% from three-point land, the only squad to eclipse the 40+ plateau. They may have been extra hot from downtown, making 20 of their 39 attempts from deep in this closeout contest, but it's definitely not out of character for LA.

There are similar stars in the NBA that can be targeted for one reason or another. Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is a dominant force, but his inability to score in isolation and get a bucket at will hinders his offensive game. Guys like Stephen Curry and Kyrie Irving are often attacked on the defensive end in an attempt to balance out their immense impact on the offensive side of the floor.

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But unlike those guys, Rudy Gobert's value is so far skewed on his defense and rim-protection that if you can find a way to prevent him from terrorizing you on that end, he loses his value almost entirely.

Rudy Gobert is a terrific talent and one of the most dominant forces when he's on for the Utah Jazz. The Los Angeles Clippers just showed in these last two contests that his off switch isn't that hard to find.