he Los Angeles Clippers are facing a tough situation right now. Blake Griffin is injured and will be out for at least another month. Chris Paul, in a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, separated the tendon in his right thumb, sidelining him for 1.5-2 months. And finally, they just lost a close match against the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves, which is a sign that without their two all-stars things may go down hill very quickly.
That is, unless DeAndre Jordan – the Clippers third best player and defensive superstar – can lead the team to wins.
For a player with as limited of an offensive skill-set as Jordan has, the thought of him leading a team to victories against all but the worst teams seems crazy. The fact is, though, DeAndre’s play means he’s arguably the best defensive big-man in the NBA. Yes, even better than Rudy Gobert.
Rudy Gobert. The Stifle Tower. In many ways, a near-lock for Defensive Player Of The Year.
Regardless of how you phrase his name, Gobert is one of the best defensive players in the NBA. He is central to the best defense in the NBA, and when Gobert is playing the Jazz give up less than one point per possession which by itself would be the best defense in the NBA.
Furthermore, Gobert’s playtype data – i.e., how he does against certain plays – reflects this thinking. Per Synergy Sports Technology, Gobert ranks in the 96th percentile of all players who have defended the roll-man in a pick-and-roll this season, the 86th percentile of post-up defenders, and is the best player in the NBA at guarding shots off screens. Gobert is one of the most natural defensive players we have seen in a long time.
Okay, so with all of that said, how is DeAndre Jordan a better defender?
With Gobert, we tend to focus on what he does extremely well, and ignore the negative aspects of his game. He is an average spot-up defender (54th percentile) and isolation defender (63 percentile). But perhaps the biggest problem is Gobert’s ability to guard the ball handler in the pick-and-roll.