The amount of Rudy slander we've heard this offseason has reached ridiculous levels, so thank you for pointing out that it was mostly a team problem in that awful Mavs series. Also I'm sorry that you had to go back and watch that. Traumatizing stuff.
Rudy IS a liability in the playoffs. ALL one dimensional players are liabilities in the Curry Era. He's been in the league how long and can't do anything but dunk and block shots??? Really? This is nothing personal against Gobert. It's simply the reality of CURRY ERA NBA. He entered the league before the league leveled up to the Golden State level, so his weaknesses weren't as significant. Now, however, we can see why Utah was never able to advance with him, despite his shot-blocking ability. In the Curry Era, whatever your weakest link is will be targeted and exploited, on offense or defense. Ask Luka how it feels to be targeted. Minnesota will NEVER get to the conference finals with Gobert on the team. It's that simple. The team is Defense heavy and Offense Light. A one dimensional rim protector means every time he's on the court Minnesota is playing 4 ON 5 when they have the ball. Take away the lob and he is neutralized. This is basketball tactical analysis, not "Rudy slander". NAZ REID should start and take Gobert's bloated contract. NAZ REID was the reason they beat Denver. Not Gobert. Because Reid is a threat on offense and can actually play better defense on Jokic. This is simple math and I'm sure Connelly sees exactly what I'm writing about. That's why he drafted the way he drafted but dealing with Gobert's contract is a different issue. It also would require an extremely ruthless mindset. But with the West's various upgrades I don't see Minnesota getting as far next season as they did last season, so Connelly will have an easier time dealing Gobert and adding more offense.
Plus, Gobert's on-ball defense is kinda trash. He's done nothing to improve it over the years. His base is too tall and his lateral movement, in base, is atrocious. He gives up on lateral movement and starts chasing after a couple of moves. Luka didn't even do much on this play. Gobert is WILDLY overpaid.
Dallas' playmakers simply outplayed our defense in its entire scheme. That's a failure from the top to the bottom, and while Rudy is a part of that, he wasn't the main problem. But he is the load-bearing part of that structure, and he is the DPOY. So if they don't get it figured out this year, I do see a reconfiguration afterward that includes moving on from him and Elston Turner as the mastermind.
The hate Gobert gets is so surreal to me. It’s like it’s almost scripted, everyone just got a memo that it’s trash on Gobert in the media week this week. He’s the second best player on a team that made the conference finals and was actually more competitive in the series than it appears on first glance. I get that he’s an acquired taste but the fact that he gets no respect whatsoever from the rest of the league stinks of envy and resentment, which reflects more on the haters than the object of their hatred.
The issue is DROP COVERAGE! Plain and simple. It creates the situation where the on ball defender ends up "In jail” on the offensive players hip, with Rudy stepping up. You need either a more straight up defensive scheme OR better rotations when Rudy inevitably has to step up to challenge. This is what Minnesota did in their lone victory against Dallas. The coaches failed the team. This was an adjustment that should have taken place after game 1
I understand what your saying here it was a team lose and both Luka and Kyrie are two of teh best PnR players in teh NBA. However my biggest issue with Rudy was the fact he wasn't able to score of offense when Luka got switched on him. We didn't not make Luka work on both ends of the court or take advantage of his horrible defense. We should of been running him through screen after screen and when he switched we should be able to put him under the hoop. I don't see our defense getting better with Dilly so we need to make other team pay now.
Honestly don't understand how ppl can blame Rudy for every defensive collapse. Ant is terrible at navigating screens which leaved Rudy with a 2v1 every single possession. Jaden was also not effective at the point of attack against Luka because he was always behind the play playing Luka from behind and was a literal non-factor. Rudy has to cover his teammates' asses on every single defensive blunder and yet he's always the one getting the blame. Instead, it should be Ant and Jaden being criticized for their nonchalant defense at times which puts the team in a bad situation in the first place.
The defensive rotation when the team was forcing the ball out of the Luka's hands was also terrible which could be seen in around the 5 minute mark. Long story short, defense is a total team effort and Dallas was able to preserve tons of energy on that end while doing whatever they wanted on the offensive end. It's honestly a miracle how so many games were close and winnable. With that being said, the team can only get better.
Great vid! Why do you think the Mavs spammed the PnR against Min, then barely even tried running it against Bos? Yes, teams built differently etc., but you'd think if a play worked THAT well against your last opponent (and kind of for the last half of the season), you'd at least try it more than a couple times.
For me the big issue was the terrible plan on the ball when the pick came. The defensive scheme was flawed. They insisted on always going over screens regardless if the ball was in a three point threat position or player.
I understand going over with a Curry or someone who will bury a three from behind the screen. But there really aren't that many shooters that require going over the screen every time. But for some reason the Wolves did it, except for Conley. He was the only one who was smart enough to do it right – quickly get under the screen and cut off the drive to the basket.
The problem is when going over the screen the defender is completely out of the play. Now the ball has a clear path to the basket and someone has to pick it up. When that happens there is always an open man next to the basket for an easy finish.
So the whole defense is broken just from the initial decision to go over the screen. Yes, occasionally there might be a three given up or some other break. But not nearly at the same rate they give up easy baskets by always going over the screen.
I was disappointed by Ant's performances in this series. A) Mavs didn't have anyone on the wing who was supposed to lock him up and yet, Ant failed to score at least 30 points in all 5 games. B) He was way too passive way too often. Him averaging 8 APG was not what the Wolves needed. That's like asking Kobe to pass the ball instead of scoring. C) Ant's crucial TO at the end of game 2 led to Luka's gamewinner over Rudy. All we had to do was take care of the ball and that was on Ant. D) Game 5, first quarter – I think Rudy had the most shots on the team (7), Ant was nowhere to be found and came alive too late. It was already over, Mavs were leading by 30 and not really defending anymore, when Ant suddenly hit 3 threes which helped him to boost his overall averages in the series, but without this little sequence, his overall numbers would look worse. I know he is young, but hopefully he learns from these mistakes…
Thank you so much H&G! I am so tired of the Rudy bashing. I also think that the players were drained after the series against Denver and could not follow Dallas rythm.
Look man. He's the DPOY. There are expectations that come with that. But instead I watched him lose to the same basic pick and roll like 40 guhmillion times in that single series. That's not just some otherworldly scheme, at some point you have to make an impact instead of being an embarrassment on the court, or you're not as good as people advertise you to be.
"Now don't get me wrong, Rudy gobert was not at his best"…. As wolves fans, that's where we need to start, because, we exhausted ourselves in that nuggets series and we needed Rudy on D and he did not show up in this series in my humble opinion, but part of it is not 100% his fault because I think it's a coaching issue too, he's out on the perimeter way too much and it's ineffective, he needs to be defending around the rim and on the offensive end, he needs to get out of the way and get out on the perimeter more and develop a jump shot..
22 Comments
The amount of Rudy slander we've heard this offseason has reached ridiculous levels, so thank you for pointing out that it was mostly a team problem in that awful Mavs series. Also I'm sorry that you had to go back and watch that. Traumatizing stuff.
Thank you for this analysis. When I watched this series, it reminded me the situations where he was with the Jazz.
5:52 Towns is a "traffic cone" 😂😂
Rudy IS a liability in the playoffs. ALL one dimensional players are liabilities in the Curry Era. He's been in the league how long and can't do anything but dunk and block shots??? Really? This is nothing personal against Gobert. It's simply the reality of CURRY ERA NBA. He entered the league before the league leveled up to the Golden State level, so his weaknesses weren't as significant. Now, however, we can see why Utah was never able to advance with him, despite his shot-blocking ability. In the Curry Era, whatever your weakest link is will be targeted and exploited, on offense or defense. Ask Luka how it feels to be targeted.
Minnesota will NEVER get to the conference finals with Gobert on the team. It's that simple. The team is Defense heavy and Offense Light. A one dimensional rim protector means every time he's on the court Minnesota is playing 4 ON 5 when they have the ball. Take away the lob and he is neutralized. This is basketball tactical analysis, not "Rudy slander".
NAZ REID should start and take Gobert's bloated contract. NAZ REID was the reason they beat Denver. Not Gobert. Because Reid is a threat on offense and can actually play better defense on Jokic. This is simple math and I'm sure Connelly sees exactly what I'm writing about. That's why he drafted the way he drafted but dealing with Gobert's contract is a different issue. It also would require an extremely ruthless mindset. But with the West's various upgrades I don't see Minnesota getting as far next season as they did last season, so Connelly will have an easier time dealing Gobert and adding more offense.
Plus, Gobert's on-ball defense is kinda trash. He's done nothing to improve it over the years. His base is too tall and his lateral movement, in base, is atrocious. He gives up on lateral movement and starts chasing after a couple of moves. Luka didn't even do much on this play. Gobert is WILDLY overpaid.
Dallas' playmakers simply outplayed our defense in its entire scheme. That's a failure from the top to the bottom, and while Rudy is a part of that, he wasn't the main problem. But he is the load-bearing part of that structure, and he is the DPOY. So if they don't get it figured out this year, I do see a reconfiguration afterward that includes moving on from him and Elston Turner as the mastermind.
The hate Gobert gets is so surreal to me. It’s like it’s almost scripted, everyone just got a memo that it’s trash on Gobert in the media week this week. He’s the second best player on a team that made the conference finals and was actually more competitive in the series than it appears on first glance. I get that he’s an acquired taste but the fact that he gets no respect whatsoever from the rest of the league stinks of envy and resentment, which reflects more on the haters than the object of their hatred.
The issue is DROP COVERAGE! Plain and simple. It creates the situation where the on ball defender ends up "In jail” on the offensive players hip, with Rudy stepping up. You need either a more straight up defensive scheme OR better rotations when Rudy inevitably has to step up to challenge. This is what Minnesota did in their lone victory against Dallas. The coaches failed the team. This was an adjustment that should have taken place after game 1
I understand what your saying here it was a team lose and both Luka and Kyrie are two of teh best PnR players in teh NBA. However my biggest issue with Rudy was the fact he wasn't able to score of offense when Luka got switched on him. We didn't not make Luka work on both ends of the court or take advantage of his horrible defense. We should of been running him through screen after screen and when he switched we should be able to put him under the hoop. I don't see our defense getting better with Dilly so we need to make other team pay now.
People dissing Gobert because he's fr*nch
At this point, even though some of the hate is justified, I just want to see all his haters eat crow. They are so annoying.
I need Gobert to get a championship clinching block or something. Man, that would be gold.
Great work as usual!
Honestly don't understand how ppl can blame Rudy for every defensive collapse. Ant is terrible at navigating screens which leaved Rudy with a 2v1 every single possession. Jaden was also not effective at the point of attack against Luka because he was always behind the play playing Luka from behind and was a literal non-factor. Rudy has to cover his teammates' asses on every single defensive blunder and yet he's always the one getting the blame. Instead, it should be Ant and Jaden being criticized for their nonchalant defense at times which puts the team in a bad situation in the first place.
The defensive rotation when the team was forcing the ball out of the Luka's hands was also terrible which could be seen in around the 5 minute mark. Long story short, defense is a total team effort and Dallas was able to preserve tons of energy on that end while doing whatever they wanted on the offensive end. It's honestly a miracle how so many games were close and winnable. With that being said, the team can only get better.
Great vid! Why do you think the Mavs spammed the PnR against Min, then barely even tried running it against Bos? Yes, teams built differently etc., but you'd think if a play worked THAT well against your last opponent (and kind of for the last half of the season), you'd at least try it more than a couple times.
For me the big issue was the terrible plan on the ball when the pick came. The defensive scheme was flawed. They insisted on always going over screens regardless if the ball was in a three point threat position or player.
I understand going over with a Curry or someone who will bury a three from behind the screen. But there really aren't that many shooters that require going over the screen every time. But for some reason the Wolves did it, except for Conley. He was the only one who was smart enough to do it right – quickly get under the screen and cut off the drive to the basket.
The problem is when going over the screen the defender is completely out of the play. Now the ball has a clear path to the basket and someone has to pick it up. When that happens there is always an open man next to the basket for an easy finish.
So the whole defense is broken just from the initial decision to go over the screen. Yes, occasionally there might be a three given up or some other break. But not nearly at the same rate they give up easy baskets by always going over the screen.
I was disappointed by Ant's performances in this series. A) Mavs didn't have anyone on the wing who was supposed to lock him up and yet, Ant failed to score at least 30 points in all 5 games. B) He was way too passive way too often. Him averaging 8 APG was not what the Wolves needed. That's like asking Kobe to pass the ball instead of scoring. C) Ant's crucial TO at the end of game 2 led to Luka's gamewinner over Rudy. All we had to do was take care of the ball and that was on Ant. D) Game 5, first quarter – I think Rudy had the most shots on the team (7), Ant was nowhere to be found and came alive too late. It was already over, Mavs were leading by 30 and not really defending anymore, when Ant suddenly hit 3 threes which helped him to boost his overall averages in the series, but without this little sequence, his overall numbers would look worse. I know he is young, but hopefully he learns from these mistakes…
Thank you so much H&G! I am so tired of the Rudy bashing. I also think that the players were drained after the series against Denver and could not follow Dallas rythm.
Will no one mention Rudy stopping Luka the play before he gets embarrassed??? Rudy played well!
Look man. He's the DPOY. There are expectations that come with that. But instead I watched him lose to the same basic pick and roll like 40 guhmillion times in that single series. That's not just some otherworldly scheme, at some point you have to make an impact instead of being an embarrassment on the court, or you're not as good as people advertise you to be.
Stop he can change on every screen but he can’t because he is no DPOY. JJJ of Memphis could
"Now don't get me wrong, Rudy gobert was not at his best"…. As wolves fans, that's where we need to start, because, we exhausted ourselves in that nuggets series and we needed Rudy on D and he did not show up in this series in my humble opinion, but part of it is not 100% his fault because I think it's a coaching issue too, he's out on the perimeter way too much and it's ineffective, he needs to be defending around the rim and on the offensive end, he needs to get out of the way and get out on the perimeter more and develop a jump shot..
I think the Rudy critique is fair because, he cannot shoot