insidehoops
01-16-2015, 10:07 PM
The Jazz's second-year center from France packed all of his promise into one 11-minute span on Jan. 3, when he piled up 11 points, five rebounds and five blocks in the third quarter against Minnesota, becoming the fourth player, according to Elias, to achieve those numbers in a single period since 2000-01. That stretch was hardly the only high point lately for the 22-year-old Gobert, who is averaging 10.0 points, 8.4 rebounds and a league-leading 4.4 blocks in 32.1 minutes since Jan. 1. No wonder his playing time has more than doubled overall this season, from 9.6 minutes as a rookie to 21.0 as a sophomore. The 7-2, 245-pound big man with a wingspan close to 7-9 is looking like a steal for Utah, which picked him 27th in 2013.