Gobert, Jazz Dominate Embiid, 76ers

SALT LAKE CITY – One night after several members of the Minnesota Timberwolves questioned Rudy Gobert, the Utah Jazz center turned in a dominant 17 point, 21 rebound performance in a 118-96 clinic against the Philadelphia 76ers.

After a tight first half, the Jazz pulled away from the tired 76ers, despite both teams playing last night.

The Jazz moved to 3-0 to open their four-game road trip and have won their last six games.

The @utahjazz throttled the @sixers behind 22 points from Donovan Mitchell and a 17 point, 21 rebound performance against Joel Embiid. #takenote https://t.co/BC9D0crZmr

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) December 10, 2021

Gobert Responds To Criticism

Gobert responded to the Timberwolves’ criticism both with his play and with his words after the game.

The center outdueled Joel Embiid with 17 points, 21 rebounds, and two blocks on 6-11 shooting.

Embiid was limited by exhaustion on the second night of a back-to-back, still recovering from a serious bout with the coronavirus earlier in the season.

The 76ers star center finished with 19 points and nine rebounds, but scored just eight points after the opening quarter, and had to leave the game in the third quarter to deal with an abdominal injury.

Gobert hasn’t traditionally gotten the better of Embiid, as the 76ers are 4-2 in their six meetings and the Philadelphia big man has had the statistical advantage.

However, the Jazzman was by far the better player in their latest matchup, outrunning, out hustling, outrebounding, and outplaying Embiid in just about every facet of the game.

After the game, Gobert responded to Beverley’s comments during his walk-off interview.

“I never take shots on anyone, but I just do my job,” Gobert said. “Come in every night — I think when you when you’re the best in the world at something, people become insecure.”

Rudy lets his game do the talking. @rudygobert27 https://t.co/zRyOMn9hSO

— Holly Rowe (@sportsiren) December 10, 2021

Gobert is right, he’s the best defensive player in the world, and he showed it again with a game-high +17 plus-minus.

Joe Ingles stepped up to speak for Gobert who is often reserved in his reaction to criticism.

After Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards said Dallas Mavericks big man Kristaps Porzingis is a better rim protector than Gobert, Ingles offered a sharp response.

“For Edwards to say that Porzingis is more intimidating than Rudy is hilarious. They obviously don’t watch enough basketball.”

Whiteside Brings Extra Variables To Jazz

Gobert got significant help from the Jazz frontcourt on Thursday, specifically from Hassan Whiteside who scored a season-high 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in just 15 minutes.

The reserve big man had missed the last two games with a glute bruise and had a rocky first stint upon returning the floor.

After blocking an Emiid shot, then finishing over him on the other end, Whiteside repeatedly tried to go at Sixers big man in the halfcourt and was thwarted time after time.

However, he settled down over the final three-quarters of the game and gave the Jazz a major lift.

Hassan Whiteside said he thinks some players take shots at Rudy Gobert because he doesn't respond.

"He takes the high road a lot of times."#takenote | @kslsports

— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) December 10, 2021

“The shots I was missing early on, they started to go in a little more,” Whiteside said after the win. “Once I got more used to the game speed, I was able to get a couple of offensive rebounds and get a couple of extra possessions for us.”

Whiteside is listed at 265 pounds, just seven more than Gobert, but the way he plays, it looks like he has a 20 to 30-pound edge. Where Gobert can be pushed off his spots on both sides of the ball, Whiteside can hold his own, even against Embiid who reportedly weighs 280 pounds.

Those added 15 bench minutes of not just length, but weight and strength took a toll on Embiid who never got a break from the Jazz enormous frontline and was noticeably gassed on the second night of back-to-back games.

And though Whiteside doesn’t rise off the floor like Gobert, he has better touch than the Jazz starter and finishes well through contact.

He’s less disciplined than Gobert, and that has its pluses and minuses. At times, opposing teams take advantage of his over-aggressiveness, and as was apparent in his first stint, he can get tunnel vision with the ball in his hands.

But he’s also a more aggressive shot blocker than Gobert and has a true knack for making plays with his help-side defense. Those have helped the Jazz this season as Whiteside has outperformed expectations.

The Balance Of Shooting

The Jazz lost some bad games early in the season, largely because of bad shooting, but they’ve probably since balanced them out with hot shooting of their own, and bad performances from their opponents.

In Orlando, one of the team’s two worst losses of the season, the Jazz shot just 19 percent from three and lost 107-100.

The basketball gods, specifically those who oversee shooting likely gave that gift back to the Jazz in Philadelphia.

The 76ers shot just 6-33 from the three-point on Thursday night, and while the Jazz’s defense looked particularly sharp, Philadelphia also missed some shockingly open looks.

The make-or-miss cliche around the NBA is thrown a lot, but probably not given enough credit for how much making and missing shots impacts the game.

It’s not as simple as scoring or not scoring, as a made three allows a team to get its defense set, while missed threes can lead to leak-outs and easy transition opportunities heading in the other direction.

That was apparent for the Jazz against Philly who tried to push the ball off of the 76ers 27 missed threes which resulted in a tired Embiid, and a 52-34 rebounding advantage in the game.

It’s easy at the end of the season to look back at the final standings and remember games your team probably should have won, but if Jazz fans get to that point, they should remember that Philadelphia’s poor shooting played an important role in the Jazz season sweep of the 76ers.

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