Apparently PG13 is worse than a barstool

[ironman1315]

Since, yah know, Ingles can’t defend a barstool.

"This narrative that LeBron and the Lakers isn't going to work is absurd. It's going to work because LeBron with a bunch of dudes always works."@ColinCowherd on Vegas setting Lakers O/U at 48.5 wins pic.twitter.com/jSYWHFj9Fv

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) August 6, 2018

[Chidojuan]

He was wrong about the Jazz last year, he’ll be wrong again this year. I’m actually not even sure he watches anyone besides the Warriors and King James, he probably just looks at the highlights and game notes.

[Utah]

Probably. The other thing is that the Jazz are such an anomaly. Gobert is a top 5 player in the NBA when you look at all the metrics. He is as good as Durrant, but on the opposite side of the floor. And most people don’t know how to quantify that or predict that. They don’t know how to see how good he is because he doesn’t score 25 a night. 

Kevin Pelton’s metrics have Utah as the #2 team in basketball this year. Exciting stuff. I can’t wait to watch Mitchell play. 

[Wilson’s Mustache]

Eh, I wouldnt say Durant and Gobert are equivalents. Durant arguably  the best pure scorer in the league (certainly the most dynamic) and has become a very good defender (Helped by a 7 foot 6 inch wing span). Hes a 7 ft forward that plays SF.

[Utah]

My point exactly. Look at the advanced metrics. Gobert affects the game just as much as Durrant. They just do it at opposite ends of the court. 

[Wilson’s Mustache]

Yeah but my point was that Durant isn’t a one way player and Gobert isn’t a great contributer to offense.

[EagleMountainUte]

You are still missing the point. Gobert influences the point total on most games. So where a team averages 100 they only get like 80-90 when Gobert plays. Just like how Durant influences the Warriors to a larger margin of victory. Defensively he isn’t all that great. 

[Wilson’s Mustache]

Ay yi yi, Durant is very good defender. Especially when it comes to 1-on-1 Isolation basketball, he has one of the highest rating vs isolation plays. Look at him vs Lebron for example. Which is my point. Gobert vs Durant is bad comparison.

Gobert (defense) vs Harden (offense) and how they effect the game is a much better comparison.

[EagleMountainUte]

I have read some articles about Durant as a defender. While he has improved individually Warriors defense has been trending downward since he has been on the team. He still is known for his scoring but I will concede Gobert to Harden as a better comparison.

What is cool about Gobert is he improves the Jazz all around defensively. So they have a substantial edge to win against most teams. Which is what Harden and Durant do offensively for their teams. However he was really negated by Capella because he put no pressure on Capella offensively. Rockets are also matchup hell for the Jazz. 

[Wilson’s Mustache]

About half way through the season last year Durant was getting talks for DPOY. If GSWs defense has gone backwards since his arrival it’s probsbly due to losing great defense help like a Andrew Bogut and not due to his play. 

 

Durant has grown into very good defensive player and can be flexible enough guard almost anyone on the court. He’s a freak athlete. 

[ironman1315]

Gobert is the defensive version of James Harden.

[Wilson’s Mustache]

This is a better comparison

[chinngiskhaan]

Elite on defense… and completely forgets that scoring and offense is a thing 90% of the time? Yep, sounds about right.

[ironman1315]

I wouldn’t say forgets. But his offensive game isn’t very robust. He’s getting around 13-14 per night. If he could develop a 10 footer or a hook shot he could be good enough offensively.

[EagleMountainUte]

He needs to look at Capela for an example of what you need to do. He has a better ft shot than him and has improved that significantly.  So there is hope. 

[FtheY]

Love Gobert. If he did nothing else to his game but got stronger, he’d increase his scoring average. Can’t remember how many put backs he could have dunked, or at least drawn a foul on, if he had just been aggressive and gone up strong. And that’s with no improvement to his game. Imagine if he had a 10-15 footer. 

[Utah]

While Gobert’s offensive game isn’t elite, he is very, very, very efficient. When he does try to score, he scores. 

He’s not as bad offensively as people say he is. 

David Locke argued that Gobert was actually a better/more impactful basketball player than Harden and Curry. That when you combine his defensive impact with his limited, but effective offensive impact, he impacted the game more than those two. 

This year will prove/disprove that point. There is a reason why Pelton has Utah as the #2 team in basketball and most of that is Gobert. We need Mitchell to score, but we go as far as Gobert takes us. 

If Gobert is more impactful than Harden, etc, we will end up #2 in the West.