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Has Kessler surpassed Gobert?

Has Kessler surpassed Gobert?

  • Yes, Kessler is better now

    Votes: 9 17.3%

  • They are on the same level

    Votes: 7 13.5%

  • No, Gobert is better now

    Votes: 28 53.8%

  • Too early to know for sure

    Votes: 8 15.4%
  • Total voters
    52
Best thing about this season is Kessler finally getting over 30 minutes per game (since coming back from injury. His last 9 games). And flourishing with more playing time.
 
Gobert started off the season slow, but he’s back. Kessler has been great, there are levels above that Gobert has reached and looks to be reaching again. No shame in that for Kessler, we’re talking about the best in the league.
 
The biggest thing Kessler will (likely) never have that Gobert did is the ability to dunk. He just isnt that good at rising up in traffic (not that Gobert was, but Gobert was long enough to overcome that, at least in his athletic prime).

Kessler has definitely gotten better at drawing fouls by going up harder, but he still isnt anywhere close to the elite rim runners in that regard.
 
Saint Cy of JFC said:
The biggest thing Kessler will (likely) never have that Gobert did is the ability to dunk. He just isnt that good at rising up in traffic (not that Gobert was, but Gobert was long enough to overcome that, at least in his athletic prime).

Kessler has definitely gotten better at drawing fouls by going up harder, but he still isnt anywhere close to the elite rim runners in that regard.
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Agreed. Gobert had many many beastly dunks on top of dudes. That aint kessler.
Kessler is great at shot blocking and making high percentage shots but if you pull up highlight videos of the two players doing those things you find that kessler highlights are kinda ho hum getting the job done and Gobert highlights have that wow factor
 
Saint Cy of JFC said:
The biggest thing Kessler will (likely) never have that Gobert did is the ability to dunk. He just isnt that good at rising up in traffic (not that Gobert was, but Gobert was long enough to overcome that, at least in his athletic prime).
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I agree. However, in the last game I noticed that Kessler really increased his hang time on his dunks. He is not jumping higher but now he takes off farther away from the rim and dunks with authority (instead of attempting weak, blockable finger rolls). I think that is because Walter became better at using his feet to push off for running dunks.

Kessler has been quietly adding a lot to his skillset: better dunking, better passing out of the post, improved stamina, noticeably improved pick and roll execution... Even his 3-point shooting ability: it may never become one of his primary weapons but it would allow him to stay on the court when the Jazz try to pull a dominant center away from the basket. And, importantly, if Kessler is going to to play 32-34 minutes then occasional standing in the corner would allow him to catch his breath and have more energy for banging under the basket.
 
SoberasHotRod said:
They are in such different situations it's hard to compare. I also haven't watched Gobert much this year.

If we had a team that was trying to compete for something I would want Gobert, so I guess that's my answer gun to my head, but I picked too early to know for sure because I think there are too many variables to really know.
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Having watch all Minny game, i would say that Rudy is still better. Lots of things Rudy does in defense do not appear in data.

The reason why Rudy stat are down is because of the poor matching with Randle. Losing KAT (and Slomo) penalize Rudy a lot as they were having a good connection. Mike play 4 min less this year per games and it probably affect Rudy as well. But he is still really efficient and the reason why Minny still have a top NBA defense ( with Mac Daniel and NAW really good as well in defense).

Kessler stat are better because he play with less good players around and is more involved on offense scheme than Rudy.

But overall, the gap start to closing and I'm pretty confident Kessler can become in a year or 2 a close version of Rudy. That's why trading him will be a huge mistake on my opinion.
 
Whatever happened to the thread tracking Gobert's trajectory as the best center the Jazz ever had? I would love to see where that ended up. For my money he is the best center we ever had, better than Eaton, or Tag, or anyone else you care to mention.

I think just from the standpoint of "on the rise" vs "on the decline", that Kessler, if he can continue in his current development track, will surpass Gobert in the next year or 2. But right now, no he hasn't yet. Gobert is the superior player, no doubt. But that is on the cusp, we are at the point on the graph where the 2 lines intersect, Gobert going down, and Kessler ostensibly going up. Hopefully Kessler's continue to rise.

But one area where Kessler has yet to even touch on Gobert is passion for the game and for being the best. If Kessler showed the same passion Gobert does and has for his entire career, Kessler has the tools and ability to be absolutely superior to Gobert, especially on the offensive end. That is still what separates them, and likely will even right until the moment Gobert retires. But if Kessler finds that, well, watch out.
 
FrenchJazzFa said:
Having watch all Minny game, i would say that Rudy is still better. Lots of things Rudy does in defense do not appear in data.

The reason why Rudy stat are down is because of the poor matching with Randle. Losing KAT (and Slomo) penalize Rudy a lot as they were having a good connection. Mike play 4 min less this year per games and it probably affect Rudy as well. But he is still really efficient and the reason why Minny still have a top NBA defense ( with Mac Daniel and NAW really good as well in defense).

Kessler stat are better because he play with less good players around and is more involved on offense scheme than Rudy.

But overall, the gap start to closing and I'm pretty confident Kessler can become in a year or 2 a close version of Rudy. That's why trading him will be a huge mistake on my opinion.
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Lots of things Rudy does for the offensive that doesn't show up in the stats as well. For a couple of years he lead the league in offensive efficiency, can't forget that.
 
LogGrad98 said:
Whatever happened to the thread tracking Gobert's trajectory as the best center the Jazz ever had? I would love to see where that ended up. For my money he is the best center we ever had, better than Eaton, or Tag, or anyone else you care to mention.

I think just from the standpoint of "on the rise" vs "on the decline", that Kessler, if he can continue in his current development track, will surpass Gobert in the next year or 2. But right now, no he hasn't yet. Gobert is the superior player, no doubt. But that is on the cusp, we are at the point on the graph where the 2 lines intersect, Gobert going down, and Kessler ostensibly going up. Hopefully Kessler's continue to rise.

But one area where Kessler has yet to even touch on Gobert is passion for the game and for being the best. If Kessler showed the same passion Gobert does and has for his entire career, Kessler has the tools and ability to be absolutely superior to Gobert, especially on the offensive end. That is still what separates them, and likely will even right until the moment Gobert retires. But if Kessler finds that, well, watch out.
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Can't agree more. Rudy give all his heart and soul for the team he play where Kessler is still far from that. And i agree too, father age will hit Rudy when Kessler is a work in progress. We can tell in 10-12 years from now which of them make the most impact. Hopefully for the jazz, it will be Kessler.
 
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This is a stupid thread. Of course Kessler hasn’t massed Gobert. It’s just his third year in the league. The question that should’ve been asked is who was/is better in their 3rd year. Kessler’s stats are actually a little better looking at each players third years. More points, more blocks and better fg% Gobert had a better rebound rate but not by much. Seeing that makes me excited for his future.
 
Gobert with a negative 37 last night. 3 points, 4 rebounds, zero blocks. (pretty much the whole minnesota team sucked though and gobert was only out there for 22 minutes so it was a flukey game)
 
fishonjazz said:
Gobert with a negative 37 last night. 3 points, 4 rebounds, zero blocks. (pretty much the whole minnesota team sucked though and gobert was only out there for 22 minutes so it was a flukey game)
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Which means that Minnesota was +11 in 26 minutes when Gobert did not play. That was unexpected.
 
jazznik said:
Which means that Minnesota was +11 in 26 minutes when Gobert did not play. That was unexpected.
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Ya I shouldn't have even brought it up tbh. It was just a flukey game. Kessler continues to play great however.
 
Kessler Efg% currently at a career high of 72.5%
In goberts 12 years he has never hit that mark. Only had one year where he was even close. (71.3% in 2021-22). Kessler eclipsed Rudy's career best in 2 of his 3 years so far.
 
Kesslers 3 years blocks per 36 per game numbers are 3.7, 3.7, and 3.5.
In goberts 12 years his career high in blocks per 36 per game is 3.4. (vast majority of seasons is under 3)
 
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Turnovers tell the same story. Rudy's lowest turnovers season isn't as low as kesslers highest.
 
Where gobert really destroys Kessler statistically is free throw attempts. And playing with much better teammates and teams with much higher season aspirations.
 
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