Rudy Gobert: Timberwolves Playoffs & Defensive Prowess

I think I hated the Rudy Gobert trade more for Minnesota than any trade for the last 30 years

that I've hated for a team. Four first round picks to the Jazz. This is the single most egregious

overpay in NBA history. Rudy Gobert, I'm done with you. You suck. You're sorry. I'm feeding

you behind the rest of the series, you big dummy. Every single time you believe in Utah

They let you down. Utah Jazz make me sick because they repeatedly underachieved

They disgust me. Stevie Wonder could see Rudy Gobert should not be playing in the city

He just can't cover anybody. Broke the news that Rudy Gobert will be suspended for one game

I almost feel badly for Rudy because it seems like he knows nobody likes him

but nobody likes him. Rudy Gobert is one of the most polarizing basketball players on the planet

In just a two-year span, he went from being the greatest defensive player of this generation

to then looking like a shell of himself last season after the Timberwolves acquired him

in what many consider the worst trade of all time. Somehow, someway, he is back to his former dominant self this year

leading the NBA in defensive rating and is the odds-on favorite to win defensive player of the year

So how is it that Rudy Gobert went from being seemingly completely washed last season to now an even better version of his former self

Today in this video, we will dive into the unforeseen resurrection of Rudy Gobert

Most of us know Rudy Gobert's story fairly well. Pretty much a no-name drafted 27th overall in the 2013 NBA draft, who becomes one of the league's best defenders in his fourth or fifth season to then winning three of four Defensive Player of the Year in 2018, 2019, and 2021

Leads his Utah Jazz teams to immense success in the regular season, but could never seem to get it done in the playoffs, specifically in 2021 and 2022

In 2021 the Utah Jazz had the best record in the Western Conference and were poised for a deep playoff run After defeating the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round they match up with the Los Angeles Clippers in the West Semis

where they would take a commanding 2-0 lead to start the series

before then surrendering the next four games in the series, including a 25-point blown lead in Game 6

where the Clippers went small ball and were able to expose the Utah Jazz's perimeter defense

and draw Rudy Gobert out onto the perimeter. And again in 2022, as the fifth seed facing the Dallas Mavericks, again, Rudy Gobert and the Utah Jazz were exposed and handled in six games

Which brings us to Rudy's first of three legacy-defining crucifixions in the eye of the public

He's a great defensive player in the regular season with no offensive game whatsoever, and due to the nature of his defense, cannot help you win a playoff series

But in the summer of 2022, things would only get worse for Rudy when Tim Connolly, newly hired GM of the Minnesota Timberwolves, would break NBA Twitter, acquiring Rudy Gobert in what many perceived at the time to be the worst trade in NBA history or at best tied with the Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce Nets trade

Which became Rudy's second legacy-defining crucifixion pretty much overnight, being the guy on the wrong end of the worst overpay in NBA history

To make matters worse, Rudy Gobert would have statistically his worst season of his career

since his second or third year in the NBA that season. And throughout the course of last season, Rudy Gobert would probably get more hate and

more critique than any other player in the entire NBA. And to some extent, rightfully so

Everyone questioned if Carl Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert could work together on the floor

And while they didn't get much time together due to a cat-calf injury that kept him out

60 games when they were on the court together it didn't look good not to mention when Rudy was on

the court at all this season he didn't look very good and the Timberwolves who just spent their

entire future acquiring him would win six less games than the year before and be fighting for a

spot in the playoffs again in the play tournament this became Rudy third legacy defining crucifixion he washed at 30 years old and never going to be the same So the question we have to answer in this video is how did Rudy Gobert resurrect himself this season

Let's start with Rudy's playoff reputation. In my opinion, Rudy was the scapegoat

for a poor defensive Utah Jazz scheme that lacked any serious perimeter defense

outside of Royce O'Neal and forced Rudy Gobert to cover and do way more

than he should have ever been asked to do. A couple ysts that were smart enough to point this out in real time were Kenny Beachum

on Through the Wire podcast. Those are four perimeter defenders that are not very good

so their defense is, we're going to try to stay in front of Paul George, but we probably can't

And J.J. Redick on first take with Stephen A. Smith. Who is the liability? Who is the liability

Is it the perimeter defense, or is it Gobert? No, no, no, no, no, no. Because Gobert has cleaned up

a lot of the mess of their perimeter defense. When it comes to the Rudy Gobert trade

and his fit alongside Cat in Minnesota, we simply just didn't have enough time with them last season

to determine if they could fit together. Chris Finch is an offensive genius

so when he's confident that these two can work together, sometimes we just have to trust that and give it time

And when it comes to Rudy's decline in play last season versus his resurgence this year

my speculation, and that's all it is, is that he was playing semi-hurt last year

He played a lot of games in Eurobasket leading into the season and even dealt with muscle spasms in his back throughout the season

He just didn't have the bounce he usually had, and simply that isn't something that just comes back at the age of 30

after a season of not having it. Let's take a look at his performance from two nights ago

versus Chet Holmgren and the Oklahoma City Thunder. OKC came into this game with the number two seed in the Western Conference

it was going to be a battle for the Timberwolves. Check out this possession from Rudy Gobert late in the game

He shuts down an SGA drive only to then recover as Chet Holmgren cuts towards the middle of the lane

After a Thunder offensive rebound, he then shuts down a Lou Dort drive only to recover

and shut down an Aaron Wiggins drive as well. And on the very next possession in a five game with four minutes left on the clock Rudy Gobert is guarding Chet Holmgren in the corner out on the perimeter Chet drives and shoots a sky hook that Rudy heavily

contests. He then closes out on Chet Holmgren, which makes him drive and then refuses a free

throw line jumper as well. Shuts down an Isaiah Joe drive and then contests a Chet Holmgren mid-range

jumper that he air balls. This is 10 out of 10 defense. This is stuff that I believe we didn't

really even see in Utah with Rudy Gobert. The result of having to deal with Rudy Gobert all

night was a red hot Chet Holmgren scoring 16 points on only 6 for 20 from the field

The bottom line for making this video, in my opinion, is that Rudy Gobert is 110% back. And

for anyone saying it's just another regular season, he's going to fall apart again in the playoffs

I challenge you to compare the two rosters between the Utah Jazz and the Minnesota Timberwolves

Timberwolves have arguably one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA in Jade McDaniels

not to mention Nikhil Alexander-Walker, who is a very good perimeter defender as well

And they have Anthony Edwards, who when he wants to be, can also be an elite perimeter defender

You also have Kyle Anderson and Kat, who are playing very well on defense next to Rudy Gobert

This team's identity is defense, which is a stark contrast from Rudy's time in Utah

Minnesota has held opponents to a league leading nine times under 40% from the field

No other team has done this more than five times and seven teams have yet to do it

And like I said earlier, they are the number one defense in the NBA

and Rudy Gobert is plus 250 to win defensive player of the year

This team is for real. And while they may not finish first in the Western Conference

I feel pretty confident they're going to be a top four seed and be able to do some damage in the playoffs

And if nothing else, I think the basketball world owes Rudy Gobert a huge apology for what they've put him through over the past three to four years

I can't think of another player in today's NBA with his type of elite accolades

whose worth has been challenged time and time again and has been labeled as overrated as much as Rudy Gobert has

If you enjoyed this video, you'll enjoy the video I just made on how Tyrese Halliburton became the NBA's newest superstar

Thanks for watching, and as always, we'll see you on the hardwood