Rudy Gobert’s cash message to his team after the defeat

Beaten by Dallas, the Jazz returned to square one in this playoff series. However, the way his team bowed did not please Rudy Gobert at all, who spoke after the meeting. His words are clear and point the way forward for the squad.

Opposed to the Mavs deprived of Luka Doncic, Utah had carried out a nice operation by winning Game 1 and thus winning the advantage of the field in this first round. Unfortunately, Rudy Gobert’s teammates missed the opportunity to break, the Texans managing to equalize in the second set (110-104). One everywhere, ball in the center, therefore, and one can be particularly frustrated on the side of the French pivot.

Once again ignored in attack with barely 5 shots, the Olympic vice-champion however played fiercely under his circle, finishing with 17 rebounds and 2 blocks. However, The Stifle Tower already has a precise idea of ​​what to remedy for the future. Eric Walden of Salt Lake Grandstand notably conducted a long interview with the No. 27 after the defeat, and the person concerned did not spare his teammates. For him, it is imperative that the Mormons start defending better if they want to extend their season:

Rudy Gobert urges Utah to defend better

We all have to focus on defence. Each of us. And we have to understand that we can defend any team – we did. We did it. Some matches were tough, others were consistent and we managed to win them. We just have to be who we are. We have to change our minds for defense and be prepared to defend and communicate and do all those things that aren’t as fun, but that we have to do if we want to win.

The triple DPOY does not hide it, he believes that some of his teammates at least do not do enough in the Jazz half and we can not blame him for thinking so. Donovan Mitchell, author of 30 shots in the game but catastrophic in defense, can feel targeted… Beyond Spida, Quin Snyder’s men let their opponents have fun behind the arc. Dallas shot nearly 47% from three points in the game, converting no less than 22 award-winning shots.

So we have a flagrant area for improvement, especially for a squad considered for years as a defensive fortress. Unsurprisingly, elimination fears are resurging and some are already seeing a second-round rematch against the Clippers in 2020-21. Gobzilla would like to remind you, however: the two scenarios are radically different, in particular because we are still only at the start of the round. So everything is still doable, as Walden reports:

Gobert also pointed to a crucial difference between this split and last year’s Clippers series — there’s still time. “The good thing is that it’s Game 2, it’s not Game 6 with the streak in play. collectively – can see the things we can do better”.

Impossible to contradict Rudy Gobert on this, he who cannot do everything in defense for Utah either. His teammates need to do better if they want to pass the first round, starting with the three-point defense.