Utah Jazz was defeated by Memphis Grizzlies 119: 118 last night.
Memphis lost 116: 118 in 14 seconds until the end of the match, but the solo sequence of Jaren Jackson Jr. brought the “grizzlies” victory.
A detail that is especially striking is the defensive failures in the very finish of the match of the three-time winner of the award for the best defender in the league – Rudy Gobert.
The Frenchman is considered the best defender in the league, but last night’s moves largely call into question his status.
What actually happened? At 14 seconds until the end of the game, a “dead ball” situation arose, and in such situations in the NBA league, two basketball players who were fighting for possession, jump for the ball after the referee’s failure.
Rudy Gobert and Jaren Jackson Jr. jumped for the ball, but the Frenchman failed to secure possession for his team.
However, an even bigger mistake followed. Instead of saving his player who remained on the line for three points, Gobert decided to fill the racket, so that Ja Morant could not score, but in the racket, two Utah players were already waiting for the Memphis playmaker. Morant spotted Jaren Jackson Jr. himself on the left flank and forwarded the pass, Gobert couldn’t get back on his man in time, and Jackson hit a three-pointer to win the Grizzlies.
This reasoning and defensive attitude of the player who is considered the best defender in the league is, to put it mildly, unacceptable.
Gober won the award for the best defender in the league three times, as much as Dwight Howard. The two players who have won this award four times are Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Valas.
If the Frenchman wins that award this season as well, he would equal at the top of the list with two legends. The impression is that Gobert is far from the status of the best defender in the league, which has been proven countless times so far.
The number of Gobert awards won hypothetically puts him in the line of one of the best defenders of all time, but for now only hypothetically. Nikola Jokic regularly proves how weak the Frenchman is defensively, and such situations further challenge his defensive qualities.
What are your impressions, is Rudy Gobert one of the best defenders in the NBA league of all time?
