Gobert, Conley Find Stride Together

SAN FRANCISCO, California – Mike Conley has found his rhythm with the Utah Jazz. That was apparent before the Jazz beat the Golden State Warriors 122 to 108 in San Francisco. Rudy Gobert hadn’t ever lost his rhythm, leading the Jazz to the best defense in the league through nine games. 

Monday night, it appeared the two fully found their harmony together rolling to the rim — specifically in the third quarter. 

Conley assisted Gobert on three baskets, all dunks, including two alley-oops in a 6:39 stretch, and the Jazz offense seemed to take another step forward in the 10th game of the season. 

Finding the ʙɪɢ fella pic.twitter.com/2VeFsdny78

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) November 12, 2019

“More than anything, it just takes time” coach Quin Snyder said of the pair finding their pick and roll chemistry, “In any facet of life when you’re new to something those things get to become instinctive.” 

Conley continued his recent hot streak. Going into the game, the Jazz point guard was averaging 18.2 points, three assists and three rebounds over his last five outings. He added 22 points and seven assists against the Warriors, shooting 6-11 from the floor, and 5-8 from the three point line. 

“We’re just playing with a better flow, a better rhythm,” Conley said,  “We were getting up the floor a little quicker.”

Before his recent streak, Conley opened the season averaging just 7.8 points and 4.3 assists, shooting just 20 percent from the floor and 15 percent from the three point line through the first four games of the year. He’s made 19 of his last 39 three point shots for 48 percent. 

Gobert, who set a league record for dunks last season entered the game averaging just 2.3 dunks per game. The Jazz center had just 21 dunks on the season, good for fifth in the league, and was seven dunks behind fourth place Jabari Parker. 

The Frenchman took advantage of the smaller Warriors front court, and finished the night with six dunks, more than double his season average. Gobert had his best offensive night of the year, finishing the game with a season-high 25 points, while adding 14 rebounds and two blocks, he missed just one of his twelve shots. 

“Running the floor getting lobs getting dunks, that’s what we know him for,” Donovan Mitchell said of Gobert’s performance.

R U D Y
U
N
K
S pic.twitter.com/qkrKqX7QEW

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) November 12, 2019

Mitchell added 23 pointes for the Jazz, joining Conley and Gobert in the twenty point club for the night. Mitchell has scored 20 or more points in eight of the Jazz 10 outings this season.

The effectiveness of the two-man game with Gobert was not lost on Conley himself. 

“Just the spacing and the timing and the rhythm is coming together,” Conley said, “The more and more I play the easier it’s starting to get.“

Conley’s seven assists were his second best mark of the season.

“We were working today, and it was fun to see us start to have some good plays at the end of it.“

The Jazz will look to continue to build on the pick and roll chemistry on the second night of back to back games, hosting the Brooklyn Nets Wednesday night.