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https://isportsweb.com/2015/09/13/tibor-pleiss-could-be-an-x-factor-for-the-utah-jazz/
Utah Jazz rookie Tibor Pleiss drew some attention this week when he threw down an alley-oop dunk over Pau Gasol in this year’s EuroBasket tournament. While the big man certainly still has some improvements to make, he has shown incredible glimpses of his potential in EuroBasket play including a 15 point, 7 rebound game against Serbia. Following the departure of Enes Kanter, the Jazz underwent an absolute resurgence on both ends of the court by inserting Rudy Gobert into the starting lineup and allowing the young player from France to log starter minutes. Pleiss, who hails from Germany, will fill a crucial position on the 2015-16 Jazz roster as Gobert’s backup and will look to help maintain the Jazz’s stalwart defense while the second unit is on the floor.
2010 NBA Draft PortraitsPleiss will instantly be a useful addition for the Jazz as he will fill a very noticeable void in the second unit. While the Jazz underwent vast improvements in the second half of last season with Gobert on the floor, their inexperienced and undersized second unit often struggled to maintain the same defensive intensity. This is where Pleiss will especially come in handy. The rookie is built similarly to Gobert, standing at 7′ 3″, with a wingspan of 7’9″ and standing reach of 9’7″ (Deseret News). Yet Pleiss is also quite athletic for his size and moves the floor very well. His size and versatility should allow him to step in seamlessly behind Gobert defensively, and while Pleiss won’t be expected to be a big-time scorer right off the bat, anything that he can add offensively will be an enormous bonus for the Jazz. When Pleiss first came in for training with the Jazz, his shooting was one of the first things they put to the test. Pleiss responded by sinking a formidable 66 of 90 3-pointers. He also displayed a solid shooting touch for a big man last season in Europe as a 87% free throw shooter (Deseret News). This is clearly better than Gobert’s 2014-15 mark of 62.3% (NBA.com/stats). The hope is that Pleiss can become a bigger threat from mid-range and deep than Rudy Gobert whose scoring came overwhelmingly in the paint. If the 7’3″ rookie can accomplish that feat, he will find himself in a position to be a tough cover for any opponent as he learns to not only shoot the ball effectively, but also to create open shots for his teammates by spreading the floor and using his enormous frame to set screens and create space.
It’s definitely too early to say what kind of role Tibor Pleiss will have with the Utah Jazz, but as the league moves towards going smaller, the Jazz will continue to buck the trend by adding another huge body to enter the court while Gobert takes a rest. If Pleiss is able to adapt to the NBA style of play and truly hone his skills in the same fashion that Gobert was able to last season, then he could truly become a sixth-man style X-factor for the Utah Jazz. His inexperience and youth definitely make him a fitting addition to the culture of the ever-developing Jazz. Yet as his skill set develops and he blossoms into a rotation player, his size and ability to stretch the floor will make him an incredible asset to this year’s Jazz squad.
Utah Jazz rookie Tibor Pleiss drew some attention this week when he threw down an alley-oop dunk over Pau Gasol in this year’s EuroBasket tournament. While the big man certainly still has some improvements to make, he has shown incredible glimpses of his potential in EuroBasket play including a 15 point, 7 rebound game against Serbia. Following the departure of Enes Kanter, the Jazz underwent an absolute resurgence on both ends of the court by inserting Rudy Gobert into the starting lineup and allowing the young player from France to log starter minutes. Pleiss, who hails from Germany, will fill a crucial position on the 2015-16 Jazz roster as Gobert’s backup and will look to help maintain the Jazz’s stalwart defense while the second unit is on the floor.
2010 NBA Draft PortraitsPleiss will instantly be a useful addition for the Jazz as he will fill a very noticeable void in the second unit. While the Jazz underwent vast improvements in the second half of last season with Gobert on the floor, their inexperienced and undersized second unit often struggled to maintain the same defensive intensity. This is where Pleiss will especially come in handy. The rookie is built similarly to Gobert, standing at 7′ 3″, with a wingspan of 7’9″ and standing reach of 9’7″ (Deseret News). Yet Pleiss is also quite athletic for his size and moves the floor very well. His size and versatility should allow him to step in seamlessly behind Gobert defensively, and while Pleiss won’t be expected to be a big-time scorer right off the bat, anything that he can add offensively will be an enormous bonus for the Jazz. When Pleiss first came in for training with the Jazz, his shooting was one of the first things they put to the test. Pleiss responded by sinking a formidable 66 of 90 3-pointers. He also displayed a solid shooting touch for a big man last season in Europe as a 87% free throw shooter (Deseret News). This is clearly better than Gobert’s 2014-15 mark of 62.3% (NBA.com/stats). The hope is that Pleiss can become a bigger threat from mid-range and deep than Rudy Gobert whose scoring came overwhelmingly in the paint. If the 7’3″ rookie can accomplish that feat, he will find himself in a position to be a tough cover for any opponent as he learns to not only shoot the ball effectively, but also to create open shots for his teammates by spreading the floor and using his enormous frame to set screens and create space.
It’s definitely too early to say what kind of role Tibor Pleiss will have with the Utah Jazz, but as the league moves towards going smaller, the Jazz will continue to buck the trend by adding another huge body to enter the court while Gobert takes a rest. If Pleiss is able to adapt to the NBA style of play and truly hone his skills in the same fashion that Gobert was able to last season, then he could truly become a sixth-man style X-factor for the Utah Jazz. His inexperience and youth definitely make him a fitting addition to the culture of the ever-developing Jazz. Yet as his skill set develops and he blossoms into a rotation player, his size and ability to stretch the floor will make him an incredible asset to this year’s Jazz squad.
