EXTENSION: Gobert signs 5yr/$205M w/ UTA | DAL "significant interest" if available

[Kammrath]

https://saltcityhoops.com/utahs-unique-s...ar-gobert/

Gobert is a top 15 impact player as measured by PIPM, RAPTOR, RAPTOR WAR, Win Shares, RPM, VORP and Total Points Added. Only six other players in the entire league were unamimously top-15 in all of those metrics, and those six guys were all serious MVP candidates: Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic.

It’s a running joke on NBA nerd Twitter that the way to differentiate between a casual fan and someone who understands the nuanced nature of winning basketball is to ask what they think of Gobert. Someone whose NBA diet mostly consists of SportsCenter highlights and TNT games will largely be oblivious to the enormous impact Gobert has on winning, and the myriad ways he defines the terms of engagement at both ends of the floor. He might be the most schemed-for player in the NBA, because opposing coaches have to prepare their teams not only for his stifling presence at one end of the court, but also for his game-changing gravity as one of the league’s very best roll men.

You already know about his defensive impact. He remains the standard for a rim-protecting, system-defining defensive big. But he’s probably underrated even here, as most people probably still don’t realize that he wins at least as many games with a late block or stop as even the top offensive superstars win with a clutch bucket.

Tracking systems allow us to quantify the impact different roll men have on defenses — how often does a particular diving big draw extra help and break the defense, etc. They call it “roll gravity.” Gobert typically occupies (or is not far from) the very top spot in the league at creating gravity for his teammates by being one of the most feared rollers in the NBA.

When he does get the ball, he’s merely the best volume P&R finisher in the league. Only Atlanta’s John Collins finishes as many possessions on the roll as Gobert and matches his per-possession efficiency in that play type.

There’s a reason the Jazz’s team true shooting figure is 4.5 percentage points higher when Gobert is on the court; he makes life easier for the ball handlers, the shooters, everybody.

The reality is that every defender on the court is always aware of where Gobert is and concerned with how to guard him in core actions. I’ve been in opposing locker rooms and seen Gobert’s name circled and underlined on the whiteboard. He’s a known offensive threat, just not the same kind we’re used to raving about.

Perhaps the most important development to his game has been an improved ability to guard in space. Teams have tried to use switches and small lineups to make Gobert uncomfortable in the past, especially in the protracted chess match that is a playoff series. But as he has grown more elite at guarding switches and isos, it’s no longer wise for guards to hunt Gobert....When an iso scorer uses the possession against Gobert, he allows just 0.66 points on average, tied for literally the best figure of any big man in the league with a minimum of 60 such plays.