Jazz discovers the attack on Clippers, a key highlight of Rudy Gobert and what Quin Snyder players say about him

Three thoughts on Utah Jazz’s 114-96 victory over the LA Clippers by Salt Lake Tribune Jazz beat writer Andy Larsen.

1. Win in pick and roll 2 against 2

Jazz’s attack in the first half was bad. As the Clippers were short of manpower and essentially forced to start a very small defensive formation, the Clippers did the logical thing: they fought irritatingly with defensive pressure on the perimeter.

Rather than helping as most teams would, the Clippers held on to their perimeter fights. This meant that Jazz could play 2 on 2 on pick and roll for most of the night.

At first, they were very bad at this. Take this move, for example: Donovan Mitchell does not use the screen well and has no advantage here. I think he tries to draw a foul, but there’s no reason to shoot a bad shot like this so early on the kick timer.

So, what you do? Well, it’s up to the ball handler to maintain control and get a good look. Instead of trying to force a shot, make one on your own terms:

You can also make 2 on 2 more disadvantageous for defense, giving you more space. In other words, if Rudy Gobert puts the screen higher, it means that Ivica Zubac has to go further to protect Joe Ingles, and then Gobert can take advantage of the low space.

Mitchell’s small scoring explosion at the end of the first half kept Jazz on him, and then the Englishman’s dominance in the pick and roll game showed in the third and fourth time to clear. Clearly, this was a game that Jazz missed Mike Conley, who probably would have been better off immediately reading the situation than Mitchell. And yet, this is nitpicking, because they did I found out and ended up winning by almost 20.

2. Excellent night by Rudy Gobert

It was another brilliant night for Rudy Gobert: 23 points, 20 rebounds and a maximum score of +25. Jazz had a defensive rating of 78 with him on the court and 114 with him outside. He’s the biggest reason why Jazz won the game.

This last statistic is the one that best shows Gobert’s value: Jazz only kills opponents when it’s on the ground. In fact, he considers Mike Conley’s title the best plus-minus player in the league – perhaps a little unfair, given Conley’s absence, but the statistics are statistics.

This is my favorite piece from Gobert tonight. Watch a few times, perhaps, to see what happens and when.

Okay, so it’s a pick and roll, and Miye Oni is tracked very well. In other words, Gobert has two people to defend here. (Clarkson can pretend to help Zubac down there, but as soon as Zubac reaches ten feet, he’ll be fried. Still, props to Clarkson for making reading complicated.)

But Gobert is constantly retreating from the position of legal attack, with those big open arms and making Amir Coffee think twice about anything he should consider. The coffee breaks the play, kicking it back, so Gobert places himself between Zubac and the ring to be in a good rebound position.

The pass misses, it is a lost ball. Gobert is 91 feet away from the other arch, in a passage that appears to be going out of bounds, with a 2.10 meter man in the path. Even so, he runs across the court, past Zubac.

Regardless, Clarkson does his Clarkson thing and shoots. See where Gobert is when he shoots.

You cannot see it, because it is not there. He’s not even on the front line. Gobert receives a turnaround.

Of course, the shot gives two unusual bounces off the edge. But think about how many basketball players are not running around the court in this situation. How many players are not chasing Clarkson after the missed pass? And as soon as you see Clarkson’s shot and don’t get past the half court yet, how many slow down there? Gobert runs all the way to the edge, reads where the rebound will end and easily sinks it.

This version of Gobert is one of the best players in the NBA. It is certainly the version we see most often. But I think he took the effort to the next level this season, his best so far.

3. Quin Snyder All-Star nod

Jazz’s first All-Star is not a player, but coach Quin Snyder, who will be the Western Conference’s All-Star coach for having the league’s best record. He described being honored with the duty, but mostly that the credit should go to his players.

But those same players had a lot more to say about Snyder than he wanted to talk about himself.

“Attention to detail, just finding ways to get the best out of each individual player. The man never sleeps, ”said Mitchell. “The amount of effort he puts into his job is really incredible. I have all the respect and love in the world for man. This is really deserved and I am very happy for him. “

“The stuff off the court for me is something I never had. I mean, I played in Europe, I played with many different coaches ”, said Ingles. “But having someone who really cares about everyone – I mean this: guys who were traded, guys who were cut, guys who are in ten days – like everyone who was here, he does. And for me, this is very, very special and very rare, I think. “

“I think it’s a fair reward for the way he changed that franchise,” said Gobert.

You can say that players love to play for him, but we know it’s not because Snyder is also a spoiled coach. He’s not afraid to get in touch with the guys and hold them responsible for bad plays.

This All-Star experience is shorter than most, but I think it might help Jazz to have Snyder a little closer to the All-Stars in the league. Dan Clayton said it well:

Jazz probably won’t sign LeBron James. But having a good reputation with the best players in the league never hurts.