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This postseason surely didn't follow any script that Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert would have envisioned. After a career season in which he established himself as an irreplaceable presence, the third-year big man endured multiple injuries that hampered his impact.
Gobert tallied 12 points and 13 rebounds in the Jazz's Game 4 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Monday night in Vivint Smart Home Arena. Yet against a perimeter-oriented Warriors team with a wealth of shooting ability it often seemed as though his impact wasn't as large as it had been during the regular season.
"It was frustrating to go down the first seconds of the game," Gobert said. "Especially since I've worked so hard to be able to get to the playoffs and help my team in the playoffs. I worked real hard to be able to come back and to make an impact. I was able to. I wasn't, maybe, at my best, but I was able to help the team."
Gobert, who has turned himself from a D-League player into a Defensive Player of the Year candidate and one of the top players on a playoff team. While he anchors the Jazz defense, he has also become a crucial part of the offense, particularly when wing players like Joe Johnson, Rodney Hood and Joe Ingles have struggled.
Monday night seemed like a time when Gobert could have been a larger scoring presence inside. The second half served as an example. Gobert scored four points in the first three minutes after halftime, but he scored just two points the rest of the half.
The Warriors have taken advantage of using smaller lineups to create matchup problems throughout the season. That certainly came into play against the Jazz, and Gobert was miffed he and his teammates were never able to make Golden State pay for it. But he also believes the Jazz will benefit from the experience.
"When somebody plays small, you've got to be able to punish them," Gobert said. "We didn't always do it, but we're going to get better at it. I think it's the best thing to do. When somebody plays small you've got to punish them inside."
Despite knee and ankle injuries in the postseason, Gobert went into Monday night having averaged 16.7 points and 13 rebounds per game in the series.
"I'm proud of the way Rudy fought through it," Jazz all-star forward Gordon Hayward said of the knee injury. "That injury could've kept him out — I'm sure — the whole playoffs, but he fought his way to get back. He was definitely ver valuable to us, not only in the first series but in this series as well."
Twitter: @LWorthySports