“Rudy Gobert is our defensive anchor… He’s won the award thrice for a reason!”: Donovan Mitchell backs his star center amidst criticism as the Jazz record a 118-96 win over Joel Embiid and the Sixers

Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell backs his star center Rudy Gobert over defensive accusations, beat Joel Embiid and the Sixers

The Utah Jazz made their way to Philadelphia late last night, after beating the Wolves in Minnesota yesterday. Playing on the back-end of a back-to-back, the Sixers were favored to have their way tonight. However, Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell had other plans.

Rudy Gobert had a huge night, scoring 17 points, and grabbing 21 rebounds. Gobert also had 2 huge blocks to go along with his tally. Donovan Mitchell went off for 22 points, dished 6 assists, and stole the ball twice. Hassan Whiteside had a huge night coming off the bench. The veteran big scored 14 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and swatted away two shots. Out of his 10 rebounds, six were on the offensive end.

🏀 FINAL SCORE THREAD 🏀

Rudy Gobert’s monster double-double powers the @utahjazz to their 6th-straight win!

Donovan Mitchell: 22 PTS, 6 AST
Hassan Whiteside: 14 PTS, 10 REB pic.twitter.com/npWTzlWeeb

— NBA (@NBA) December 10, 2021

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Donovan Mitchell defends Rudy Gobert amongst defensive criticism

After the win tonight, Mitchell was asked by the reporter about the defensive scrutiny Rudy has been receiving recently. Spida stood up for his teammate and said,

“Rudy went out and showed himself. Tonight, he did the same against one of the best in the league in Joel Embiid. He’s our defensive anchor. He’s won the award 3 times for a reason… I hope people keep doing it, we keep getting 17 and 21 every night.”

“He’s our defensive anchor for a reason. He’s won the award three times for a reason.”@spidadmitchell talks about @rudygobert27‘s importance to the Jazz with @Dennis3DScott. #CenterCourt pic.twitter.com/DiushYB8gD

— NBA TV (@NBATV) December 10, 2021

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The 3x DPOY has been playing excellent basketball this season and is a part of the reason why the Jazz are #3 in the stacked Western Conference. The Jazz would hope that the fire inside Gobert stays ignited, as they head to Washington for their final game of the road trip on Saturday.