Mitchell Kept His Eyes Locked On Gobert In China
Oct 4, 2019, 10:29 AM
Donovan Mitchell of the USA shoots against Nando De Colo and Rudy Gobert of France during the quarter final of 2019 FIBA World Cup at Basketball Center on September 11, 2019 in Dongguan, China. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon - Pool/Getty Images)
(Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon - Pool/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Donovan Mitchell kept a close eye on Rudy Gobert in China this past summer when the two of them were competing at the FIBA World Cup for their respective countries.
He got an up-close look at Gobert’s game in a way he never has before when the Jazz center blocked Mitchell’s attempt at a layup in the United States loss to France in the quarterfinals.
Rudy Gobert was the best player in that game.
He had 21 and 16 boards
France was +26 in his 34 minutes on the court
Oh, and he did this to his Jazz teammate in a huge moment
Congrats France 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/7EKR58ca3B
— Kirk Goldsberry (@kirkgoldsberry) September 11, 2019
But even when the two weren’t going head-to-head Mitchell was keeping a close eye on his Jazz teammate.
“I think the one thing that really helped was seeing Rudy in a different element, kind of understanding how he wants the ball.” Mitchell said after Thursday’s practice.
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Mitchell watched how France ran their offense. He watched how Gobert was used as a scoring option. He watched as Rudy made 63% of his shots and was the team’s third-leading scorer en route to a third-place finish at the World Cup.
All that watching got Mitchell excited about the possibilities when they returned to Utah.
“I watched the France games and how they fed him the ball, where they got him the ball and when they didn’t, how they approached him and stuff like that,” Mitchell said. “I think it’s one thing that has really helped.”
Was #UtahJazz guard Donovan Mitchell spying on Rudy in China??? He did notice a few things that could maybe help him and Rudy on the floor this season. 📽️🔊👇🏽 #TakeNote #KSLSports pic.twitter.com/NeS8N9jix7
— Sam Farnsworth (@SFarnsworthKSL) October 4, 2019
Gobert had the best offensive season of his career last year averaging 15.9 points per game and led the league with 67 percent shooting from the field.
Mitchell feels that what he learned in China will help get his big man more scoring opportunities in the season to come.
“It was pretty special,” Mitchell said at the Jazz Media Day. “You learn a lot. You learn a lot about guys outside of the setting here. I think it was pretty cool.”
