The Utah coach and center will enjoy a combined experience at an NBA showdown event
Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell blocks photo by Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert in the second half of the NBA All-Star Basketball Game in Atlanta on Sunday, March 7, 2021. (Photo AP / Brynn Anderson)
It wasn’t a win in the 2021 All-Star Game that Quin Snyder and Rudy Gobert have been working towards – they have bigger goals in mind – but it still felt very sweet anyway.
“When we look at where we started seven years ago when he arrived here, if someone had told us that we would both be in the same All-Star team seven years later, we would have been say we have a long way to go, ”said Gobert.
It’s unclear if that unstable Nostradamus would have predicted exactly what the details of the game itself are, but here they are anyway:
Snyder, Gobert and Team LeBron pulled away with a 170-150 victory over Donovan Mitchell, Mike Conley and Team Durant. James’ group won every quarter of the night, overcoming Durant’s slightly short-handed squad, playing without Joel Embiid (COVID-19 protocols), Devin Booker (knee sprain), and Durant (hamstring). ) itself.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led Team LeBron with 35 points on 16-of-16 shooting, including 3-of-3 from deep – a perfect achievement that earned him an All-Star MVP award to join the two his regular-quarter MVP award from the last two years.
Weber State’s Damian Lillard result finished with 32 points, including the half-court shot to finish under the game’s exclusive Elam Ending rule. Lillard teamed up with 3-point tournament winner Steph Curry in putting together a 3-point display throughout the game itself, as Team LeBron fired over 50% from 3 on the game. Jaylen Brown and Paul George both shot 5 for 7 from depth as well.
“I think (Snyder) we took what we did during the season as far as shooting three, and just asking them to take longer and harder pictures,” Donovan Mitchell joked after the game. It’s true: Team LeBron 61 caught three on the night, in an under-48-minute game.
James himself played just 13 minutes, showing that the tournament was not just the mindset of an MVP candidate for the Lakers. It had previously been stated that he was willing to attend the event at all, although the presence of players is under contractual obligation.
Snyder led the group, though he and the Jazz coaches were certainly quieter than they would be in normal competition.
“I did what they asked me to do, which was a play or two to help in any way you can,” Snyder said of his coaching efforts in the game. “But I think they were pretty much covered. ”
Snyder is used to coaching some very talented players – remember, he even coached Kobe Bryant while he was involved with the Lakers – but there’s nothing like an All-Star Game.
“It was a joy just to look out on the court and see not just All-Stars players but Hall of Fame,” Snyder said. “I don’t know if anyone can learn how to shoot like Steph and Dame. That was a great show. ”
Perhaps the most famous in-game event of the night came from a Jazz scene in the first season: A few days after helping Gobert make it to the final selection in the All-Star Edition, LeBron James of France helped Jazz breab. -pass alley-oop – yes, you read that right – for his first points of the competition. It was one of four forts Gobert had at night.
Gobert finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, and assists, playing 13 minutes in total. He scared a few driving opponents from going up for their usual selection of All-Star docks, but he never ended up recording a block during the game.
But as both Gobert and Snyder know, the All-Star Game is not about the game itself, it is about the experience. This year was a draft of events, with the game being thrown abruptly in Atlanta due to a coronavirus, held largely to generate revenue for the league’s television participants.
However, Gobert was proud of his achievement.
“It’s a blessing. Being on the floor with the best players in the world is something I will never accept as a gift in the world, ”said Gobert. “And of course, it’s done by your coach Quin, you know, and being able to share it with this amazing first All-Star coaching experience.”
And now: three days of rest, then time to get back to work on finishing the season in addition to what they started.
“We have to get ready for war,” said Gobert. “The three days are going to be very important.”