Is It Time for the Jazz to Give Rudy Gobert a Starting Role over Enes Kanter?
The Utah Jazz may have found their center of the future. It's just not the guy they expected.
The team has groomed Enes Kanter for the job since it selected him with the third overall pick in the 2011 draft, when some serious hype surrounded him.
Ahead of the big man's entrance into the league, DraftExpress.com's Jonathan Givony wrote, "Kanter is an extremely rare physical specimen—the type of prospect NBA teams have a difficult time acquiring outside of the draft."
To an extent, Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson obscured Kanter's talent until their departures in July 2013. He's been the de facto starter ever since, but Rudy Gobert is suddenly hot on his heels.
The Jazz selected Gobert with the 27th pick of the 2013 draft and had high expectations placed on him as well. It was just supposed to take a little longer for him to reach his potential.
NBA.com asked NetScouts Basketball's Carl Berman for his thoughts on the 7'1" Gobert's draft prospects, to which he replied:
"Gobert has unmatched length and reach but still must translate that into an effective game. Right now he can protect the rim and alter and block shots, but needs to get much stronger and develop his offensive game. He does not have strong lift which may not matter because of his length. He has a chance to be a game changing player and a chance to be a bust. A definite lottery pick but a risky one.
"
The idea of Gobert supplanting Kanter in the lineup in 2014-15 was barely on the radar before the season, but that "unmatched length and reach" has already translated into a pretty effective game, particularly on defense.
That's not to say starting him is a clear-cut no-brainer, though. There's a case to be made for both.
| Enes Kanter | Rudy Gobert | |
| Height | 6'11" | 7'1" |
| Weight | 245 lbs | 245 lbs |
| Wingspan | 7'1.5" | 7'8.5" |
| Standing Reach | 9'1.5" | 9'7" |
| Minutes | 27.0 | 21.6 |
| Points | 14.0 | 6.7 |
| Rebounds | 7.6 | 7.1 |
| Assists | 0.6 | 1.1 |
| Blocks | 0.5 | 2.2 |
| Steals | 0.4 | 0.7 |
| FG% | 49.8% | 62.9% |
Rudy Gobert
The argument for Gobert pretty much revolves around the old adage, "defense wins championships," because the difference between Utah's D when Gobert plays and when he doesn't is staggering.
Just take a look at the team's defensive rating, which measures points allowed per 100 possessions, when Gobert's on and off the floor, as provided by NBA.com:
| Defensive Rating | Opponent eFG% | Rebounding Percentage | |
| On Court | 101.0 | 48.3% | 53.1% |
| Off Court | 111.4 | 50.3% | 50.9% |
The numbers coincide with the eye test on this one, as would-be drivers can regularly be witnessed during Jazz games pulling about-faces when they see Gobert clogging up the paint.
Those who opt to challenge the big man at the rim have typically been unsuccessful. According to SportVU data at NBA.com, when opponents try to score on Gobert at the rim, they're shooting just 37.3 percent. That's the best mark of any player who's made at least 10 appearances and faces at least two attempts per game at the rim.
It's not all roses when Gobert's on the floor, though. The offense averages 6.8 fewer points per 100 possessions when he plays, largely because he clogs the lane on that end too.
His skill set as a scorer basically begins and ends with catching and dunking, something that isn't necessarily a bad thing (just look at how teams like the Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks use guys like DeAndre Jordan and Tyson Chandler).
In at least one other way, though, he's actually underrated offensively. The Salt Lake Tribune's Gordon Monson wrote about it recently:
"Notice how much Gobert handles the ball when he's in the game. It's not as though he's facing up and taking people off the bounce. But he is setting up his teammates both in rudimentary and advanced fashion, getting them the ball via simple hand-offs and sophisticated interior passes. He hit [Derrick] Favors recently with such an assist from one side of the paint to the other for a Jazz score that required an understanding on his part of proper timing and positioning, movement mixed with a dash of creativity.
"
Interior passing is critical when a frontcourt doesn't feature a stretch 4, and Gobert's ahead of Kanter in that department. His assist percentage of 8.7 more than doubles Kanter's 3.9.
That helps Gobert's case, but even if he shot 100 percent from the field and averaged two or three assists, his value would still be tied up in his defensive impact.
In very limited time, he's proven to be one of, if not already the best rim protector in the NBA. A defensive anchor this good doesn't come along often. Just ask Roy Hibbert, as Salt City Hoops' Ben Dowsett did:
Enes Kanter
Kanter and Gobert are about as close to polar opposites as big men can get. If Gobert is all defense and almost no offense, then Kanter is the reverse.
The Salt Lake Tribune's Tony Jones talked about Kanter's feast-or-famine game, saying:
"At his best, Kanter is an offensive force, capable of scoring in the paint and from the mid-range. He can back guys down, go around them and finish at the hoop. Never was this more apparent than a month ago, when he lit Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans up for 29 points.
But there are times when Kanter doesn't play well defensively. This has been well talked about. Still, the organization has said they will stick by Kanter, his ability to score, his upside at 22 years of age and his potential to improve.
"
Utah scores 3.3 more points per 100 possessions when Kanter plays but also gives up 8.3 more. Is the trade-off worth it?
Verdict
As Jones said, Kanter is only 22 and still has some untapped potential, but he simply doesn't have as much of a positive impact on games as Gobert does.
Furthermore, Kanter's offensive ability could be a welcome addition to a second unit that really struggles to score. According to HoopsStats.com, Utah's bench is 29th in the league, averaging just 24.6 points.
Kanter joining Trey Burke, who was recently replaced in the starting lineup by Dante Exum, could really help balance out the Jazz's rotation.
And playing Gobert more minutes with Utah's best scorers, Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors, could mitigate his struggles on offense.
Plus, the pairing of Favors and Gobert has been excellent this season. According to NBA.com, they combine for the best defensive rating of any two-man lineup Utah has played at least 100 minutes together. When they're both on the floor, the Jazz hold their opponents to 96.0 points per 100 possessions and outscore them by 4.3.
The Favors-Kanter pairing, meanwhile, has a net rating of minus-7.4.
Gobert starting is simply a better fit now and sets up the Jazz for playoff contention in the future. Because as we all know, "defense wins championships," and Gobert has the potential to anchor that kind of defense.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats and salary figures are courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com and are current as of Jan. 23, 2015.
Andy Bailey covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him @AndrewDBailey.
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