Eaton: Gobert Needs Signature Offensive Move

Salt Lake City, Utah – Former Utah Jazz great Mark Eaton is impressed with Rudy Gobert’s leadership and progress but said he should develop a signature move in his offensive game.

On KSL Unrivaled, Eaton also gave his thoughts on the most anticipated Jazz season in 20 years. The former center likes the moves the Jazz made and it not worried about the team developing chemistry.

There are four new key players the Jazz added this season – Mike Conley, Ed Davis, Jeff Green, and Bojan Bogdanović, plus a few others. So, it is natural it would take a little bit of time for them to develop trust and comfort with each other.

This team went winless against NBA teams in the preseason but Eaton predicted it won’t take much time for them to start jelling.

“I thought the guys they brought in are exciting, I think they have a lot of talent, they bring experience, and I think all and all I am pretty excited to see what happens,” Eaton said, “I know it might take them a few games to figure it out.”

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Meshing with a new set of players is a skill set that can only be fully learned on the court against real competition.

“I think when you have guys like Bogdanović, Conley, and guys who used to handle the ball a lot at their previous places that it might take a little bit of time to figure out the flow and get the feel out there on the floor,” Eaton said on the show, “Basketball is unusual that way that it takes time to build that camaraderie and rapport and something that goes beyond that.”

It will take some time for the Jazz to figure out who they are. They will probably experiment with a handful of lineups to figure out the best rotation.

“Getting into the zone takes some time to really establish that and there might be some ups and downs along the way. I give them 10 games of .500 basketball to figure it out then I think they will hit a flow,” Easton assured Jazz fans.

Gobert Needs To Develop Go To Shot

Defense is where Gobert made a name for himself by being the two-time reigning defensive player of the year. For him to take the next step and become an All-Star, Gobert needs to find more of an offensive game.

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Eaton said there is no concern over what he can do on that end of the court and likes how he has improved each of the past few years to be an elite NBA player.

“I can’t be more impressed with the progress he has made over the past few years. His maturity level and I think he has really taken on the role of being one of the captains of this team,” Eaton said, “He is feeling the responsibility of doing whatever he can from a defensive standpoint.”

Many great centers in NBA history have had signature shots like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his sky-hook, Hakeem Olajuwon had the Dream Shake, Tim Duncan used the glass for a bank shot, and a number of others had one move they could rely on for a bucket late in the game.

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“I think the next step for him is to develop one or two low post moves that when you get into tight games, you gotta have those go-to guys and plays that are going to get you what you need,” Eaton said, “I think Rudy is close but it would really be fun if he had a jump hook or something that he can go to down the stretch where when you throw the ball down to the low post something good was going to happen.”

If Gobert does have his own high-percentage shot it would add a new dimension to this offense and make the Jazz that much tougher to defend.