NBA 2017-18: The 5 Best Defenses of the Regular Season

#2 Utah Jazz - 101.6 points allowed per 100 possessions

Golden State Warriors v Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz played perhaps the most stifling brand of defense that we've seen from any team in the league this year - only when Rudy Gobert was available. With Gobert in the lineup, their defensive rating was easily the best in the league.

Gobert is the favorite to win the Defensive Player of the Year award, given that he's already been voted into All-Defense First Team by the media. There's a reason why he's called the 'French Rejection' and the 'Stifle Tower', and why Utah has been restyled as 'Swat Lake City' by the franchise's fans.

The Jazz's defensive schemes rely on closing out hard on perimeter shooters and directing all the paint traffic towards Gobert in the middle. It is one thing to marvel at his advanced defensive stats, and quite another to see players drive through their primary defenders, look at the 7'2" big man with a 7'9" wingspan and literally duck out of his way to avoid getting blocked out of the building.

Of course, the Jazz wouldn't be the second-best defensive team in the league because of just one player. The likes of Joe Ingles, Donovan Mitchell, Jae Crowder, Royce O'Neale, Raul Neto and Ricky Rubio are all solid perimeter defenders, while Derrick Favors is a great second option to come off the bench as the center, or as a power forward in a twin towers setup.