Following last season's Enes Kanter trade, Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert steadily improved and emerged as one of the better defensive-minded centers in the league. His improvement was such that he finished third in the voting for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award, and many expect the Frenchman to break out for the Jazz in 2015.
Currently, Gobert is busy helping his native France defend its Eurobasket title. France, the host of the 2015 tournament, currently finds itself slated for a quarterfinal matchup with Latvia and Gobert is expected to have a huge impact on the outcome.
Thus far in the tournament, Gobert is averaging 9.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocked shots per game as the starting center for France. His blocks per game total leads his team, and is good enough for third out of all the players competing, just 0.5 behind five-time NBA All-Star Pau Gasol, who plays for Spain.
Gobert has also helped with the team's defense and rebounding numbers, as France currently tops the statistical leaderboard in both total rebounds per game and the fewest points allowed per game. It’s no surprise, however, as Gobert stands over seven feet tall with an NBA combine record 9-foot-7 standing reach.
While France boasts other NBA players such as Tony Parker, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw, because of his length and athleticism, Gobert may be the most important player on the roster. He won’t score a ton of points, but just as in the NBA, the value of an elite rim protector like Gobert is immeasurable.
France will continue the defense of its title with a quarterfinal match on Tuesday. If France can get past Latvia, it will need just two more wins to capture a second consecutive title, and Gobert will likely be a big factor.
It’s clear the Jazz have found their star in the paint in Gobert, but who’s his backup? Utah answered that question when it signed 7-foot-2 German Tibor Pleiss over the summer. For Jazz fans, it’s easy to get excited about unknown foreign players, but it’s become obvious that Pleiss will be nothing more than a backup.
That said, he’s a very good one, and will be a strong rotational player for this Utah team. Pleiss showed flashes of potential in a recent Eurobasket game against Serbia in which he was named the top performer by the tournament’s website.
In Germany’s loss to Serbia, Pleiss started alongside NBA-great Dirk Nowitzki and put together a solid stat line of 15 points and seven rebounds, including a 5-for-6 mark from the field. His averages for the tournament currently sit at 9.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
Pleiss won’t “wow” anyone with his speed or jumping ability, but the German center does make a play every once in awhile that should have Jazz fans excited.
It’s plays like those that lead people to believe that Pleiss can not only become a serviceable center in this league, but also a complementary piece in the Jazz frontcourt. Time will tell, but for now, Pleiss and Germany’s journey at Eurobasket has ended along with its quest for an Olympic berth when it lost a close game to Spain on Sept. 10.
Twitter: @GriffDoug