Gobert’s nickname is part reference to his French heritage and part reference to his ability to keep opposing offenses in check by stifling their ability to score. Here’s a look at some of Gobert’s best plays on the court: Similarly, with rebounding, he makes sure he’s placed in a spot where he can make the most impact. When blocking, he tends to wait until the ball is in the air before swatting at it, which helps him avoid earning defensive fouls. When he blocks other players, he knows where the ball is going and where he needs to be to make the play happen. When Gobert declared for the 2013 NBA draft, he broke the records for wingspan and standing reach.Īside from his physical advantages, Gobert also has a high basketball IQ. The Frenchman measures 7’1”, has a wingspan of 7’9”, and has a standing reach of 9’7”. Two of Gobert’s biggest advantages are his height and wingspan. But what makes Gobert such a lethal player on defense? If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have been named the 2018 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. The previously mentioned Udoka Azubuike projects to be a very similar player to Whiteside, ideally functioning as a low usage, high efficiency, rim-running, rim-protecting big.Rudy Gobert is arguably one of the best defensive players in the NBA. With that said, Whiteside has been quiet over the past couple of seasons, and his willingness to play for the veteran’s minimum may reflect a maturation of his character.
This is a player who is no stranger to controversy, and has been accused of disrupting team chemistry on more than one occasion. Here is an intangible by which Whiteside’s contribution to the Utah Jazz may ultimately be judged. Rebounds are supposed to be chased, and very few players in the NBA chase them like Hassan Whiteside.įor what it’s worth, Whiteside will make sure the Utah Jazz have a chance to control the boards for however many minutes per game he finds in Coach Snyder’s rotation. Unlike blocked shots, where inflated totals can sometimes reflect poor rim protection fundamentals, raw rebounding stats basically reflect a player’s rebounding value. Whiteside’s career average of 15.8 rebounds per 36 minutes is nothing short of stunning. Rebounding is a measure by which Whiteside will be unequivocally valuable to the Utah Jazz’s 2021-22 campaign. There’s a reason he has one of the best fantasy value-to-real life contract value ratios in the NBA. There is still value in the sheer number of shots he will send away, however, evaluating Whiteside as a defensive player based on his raw block totals would be perilous. The eye test substantiates the numbers, as Whiteside has rightfully developed a reputation for “chasing” blocks, sometimes at the expense of proper defensive positioning. Last season, he posted a Defensive Box Plus/Minus (DBPM) of -0.6, alongside a mediocre 111 Defensive Rating.
However, does his career average of 2.3 blocks per game actually result in a meaningful defensive contribution?Ī deeper dive into Whiteside’s statistical profile reflects some fair concerns in that regard. Whiteside rejects field goal attempts like a supermodel at a small town ComiCon convention. A big part of any conventional big man’s role is to block shots, and that’s exactly what the Utah Jazz are expecting Hassan Whiteside to do.