Grantland: Gobert and Snyder making Utah an Elite Defensive Team
- Thread starter Flc
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Nice... national media taking notice.
Stifle Tower
Punch Bowl Re-Filler
Derrick Favors says hello.
And Dante Exum would like to pop in for a photobomb.
Yes, it starts with Gobert, but having Favors alongside is KEY. Try to avoid one and you get met by the other. It's just not fair!
And Dante Exum would like to pop in for a photobomb.
Yes, it starts with Gobert, but having Favors alongside is KEY. Try to avoid one and you get met by the other. It's just not fair!
Article alluded to Utah being the worst defensive team last year... LOL .. I nearly forgot about Ty.
Lucky for you.
Stifle Tower
Punch Bowl Re-Filler
Yes, can you imagine had we used the 2nd pick to trade up, not gotten back in the 1st and that whole draft was for Trey? I would be so mad if he were beasting for a different team because there's no doubt Gobert would have been the Jazz' pick at #21. DL had talked about him before the draft. Fortunately we can thank all the other teams that had a chance to take him and chose somebody else. Really, with his size, he shouldn't have dropped past the late teens. So happy DL could buy a pick and he was still on the board.
Of course, worst case, we'd still have Kanter. We'd be in the hunt for a top-5 pick right now. And Denver would fighting for the playoffs. DAMN IT, Rudy...you blew up the tank!
Crawlnstall
Well-Known Member
Wonderful article, all it does is make me giddy about our teams future. Gobert and Snyder have changed the team and given us an identity. At this point the sky is literally the limit for Gobert and what he can do
Handlogten's Heros
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Favs deserves more credit. He covers for Gobert when he gets beat.
These guys are fantastic together... One guy can challenge the shot block and the other guy cleans it up. Can't tell you how many times I got frustrated with Favs going out to challenge only to see Kanter not rotate and give up a dunk or an offensive rebound.
Having those guys in the middle allows our perimeter guys to take more chances and chase guys off of the three. To beat us you are going to have to hit a **** ton of long twos... or hold us to 60 (which I can see happening).
This article was not taking away from other defenders on the team like Favors, Exum, Hayward and Millsap. It is saying that the most important piece for this has been Gobert. I agree. Many pieces go into this but it wont even remotely look like this without Gobert.
To go from the worst defensive team last year to one of the best this year with nearly the same personnel is a real testament to Snyder's ability as a coach.
gregbroncs
Well-Known Member
The Jazz have been saying for years that they wanted to establish a defensive identity. Well Snyder has done that in his 1st season.
It speaks volumes about him as a coach imo. Becuase he didn't establish a defensive identity. He established THE offensive identity. Jazz are the #1 in the league. Let that sink in.
bezerkus
Well-Known Member
Don't forget we were the worst the first month of this season too. <Thinking sarcastically> What changed last month? I wonder...
When does Gobert bet beat? LOL
The whole team has been improving, superb work by QS. But Rudy put us at another level, elite. Not taking anything away from Favs, but the last big jump has been almost all Rudy coming on.
The change started before Kanter left, it started back in mid December. But it exploded with the Kanter trade.
So Snyder had better D taking root with Kanter. Nice huh...
Coach Ellis
Well-Known Member
Roles. Kanter out. Gobert in. Burke out of the starting lineup. Exum in. Jingles and Millsap added to the perimeter. There's been a lot of good moves by the Jazz in the past couple of months. Thankfully, it seems like all 12 players who get minutes have bought into that identity.