If we talked about game-saving defensive plays and clutch stops the same way we talk about game-winning offensive plays and clutch buckets, there would be absolutely no debate about Gobert as a top 10 player.

Sorry, but another video thread coming in 3, 2, 1...
Kyrie finishes more plays per game as P&R handler than any guard in the NBA not named Trae Young, and he& #39;s more efficient at it than any volume P&R finisher outside of Kemba and Luka.

But when he rounded the corner and saw Gobert last night, he wanted nothing to do with it.
Here are 2 plays where he comes around the pick, sees Gobert and tries to throw wild lobs that result in Bkn TOs. Both of these TOs are the result of Gobert& #39;s elite ability to guard the ball AND the roller. Kyrie has to throw higher than he& #39;s used to & the bigs can& #39;t handle.
Similar play here, on quite possibly the defensive stop of the game. Once again, Kyrie doesn& #39;t feel like he can get his shot off against Gobert, so he makes an awkward pass at the last second. Gobert& #39;s able to challenge THAT shot too, giving Joe time to strip.
A couple of times, Kyrie came off, saw Gobert and just got rid of it. Both times, he delivers the ball to a guarded teammate, and in Temple& #39;s case he only had time to put up a contested airball.
When Kyrie did dare to go at Rudy, it usually didn& #39;t end well. Gobert forced him to alter/hurry shots, resulting in plays like these.

This might be the best paint-finishing guard in the NBA, and he did not score in the paint in the 4th qtr. 2/11 in the quarter overall.
And then of course there was this. The game-winning stop. Rudy understands time and situation and knows when he needs to challenge out in space. He does so here, then chases down a long rebound to seal the win.
More on that last shot... People have tried to weaken Rudy& #39;s DPOY case by saying the modern game is all abt guarding the 3. OK. But not only does Rudy& #39;s unique D enable the Jazz to limit & contest 3s, but he& #39;s now won 2 gms in the last week by contesting 3s by All-Stars.
If an offensive player had that many plays in a single fourth quarter where they just dominated the defense, we& #39;d rightfully freak out about what a special performance it was. And he completely neutralized a player known for getting to the rim & finishing.
Net players shot 6-for-24 for the night when Rudy was guarding the shot ( https://stats.nba.com/game/0021900152/matchups/?OFF_PLAYER_ID=&DEF_PLAYER_ID=203497),">https://stats.nba.com/game/0021... and that doesn& #39;t even account for the times he deterred, forced TOs, or just made a player take a U-turn away from the lane -- including All-Star Kyrie.

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