Conley/Gobert last season

[Sundog]

I love this stat from Howls and Growls this am: “In the 1538 minutes that Gobert was on the floor without Conley last season, the Wolves scored a woeful 110.9 points per 100 possessions. That, adjusted to a full season, would have been worse than every team bar the 30th-placed Charlotte Hornets. When Conley’s shrewd stylings were accompanying the lumbering European, Minnesota scored 118.3 points per 100 possessions over 611 minutes. That’s enough to match Philadelphia’s third-ranked offense.”

[kekgeek]

Rudy 3 ball incoming

https://twitter.com/thedunkcentral/stat ... _u6IL2a9cQ

[kekgeek]

To go along with the Conley thing. I saw Kat and Rudy were on pace to be the 3rd most effecting PnR pairing in the NBA.

We just have a lot of guys who didn’t know how to play around Rudy (to be fair to them should a team change everything they do for one player because the player is not dynamic)

[Monster]

Rudy 3 ball incoming

https://twitter.com/thedunkcentral/stat ... _u6IL2a9cQ

Nothing new

https://twitter.com/3thehardawaypod/sta ... vZFquP67pw

[Sundog]

Well, I hope it’s nothing new. Last thing we need is for Rudy to think he’s KAT!

[60WinTim]

Nice find, Sundog!

I am resisting posting all my unabridged enthusiasm posts for the upcoming season, knowing Q will try to bring me back down out of the clouds. The start of the season is just too far away.

But with all the difficulties this team faced through roughly three quarters of the season, and with what we saw over the final quarter of the season just to make the playoffs, it's easy to be optimistic about our favorite team's prospects. We are running back all the key pieces of that last quarter season, and made some tweaks to improve the backend of the rotation. Add in the growth of our younger players, and this team is poised to be special this upcoming season.

[KG4Ever]

Rudy 3 ball incoming

https://twitter.com/thedunkcentral/stat ... _u6IL2a9cQ

Vucevic and Valanciunas weren't 3 point shooters for their first five years, and they both are semi-competent there now. Not to say Rudy will ever be, but I'm not sure its as far fetched as most believe. I'll be interested to see if he has the greenlight in FIBA or preseason, but if not, this is just another manufactured story in the summer doldrums.

[Lipoli390]

Two thoughts. First, I’m not going to hang my hopes on Rudy’s pairing with a 36-year old PG who’s been injury prone most of his career. Second, I’m not putting any stock at all in Rudy suddenly hitting perimeter shots, much less 3-point shots. Rudy is 31 years old and has never even had a credible short-range jump shot. He has one reliable shot - a dunk. He can also get some tip-ins and layups although his layups can sometimes be as shaky as his ability to catch passes on hang on to the ball in traffic.

Rudy is a very good paint defender and screener. He also uses his length for high percentage dunks and tips. That’s it. He’s not going to meaningfully expand or change his game at age 31. If he can gel with KAT and Ant, then things could go well for this team next season. I won’t begin to guess how many games Conley will play next season. And beyond nexts season, I can’t get excited about a Rudy-Conley pairing. What matters is the Ant-Jaden pairing and possibly the fit of KAT with those two next season and even more so beyond next season.

[Sundog]

Well, I can’t quite sense what you’re saying here, Lip. Surely you’re not saying that Ant and Jaden should be the only players allowed to score next season (“I’m not saying that, and stop calling me Shirley” is the appropriate response to me there, lol).

Absolutely Ant and Jaden are the fundamental building blocks next season. But KAT, Naz, SloMo, others will play complementary and critical roles. I was just pointing out that having the Gobert/Conley pairing on the floor contributes to a potential elite NBA offense. That’s good news, not “you kicked my dog” news, lol

[FNG]

Rudy 3 ball incoming

https://twitter.com/thedunkcentral/stat ... _u6IL2a9cQ

Vucevic and Valanciunas weren't 3 point shooters for their first five years, and they both are semi-competent there now. Not to say Rudy will ever be, but I'm not sure its as far fetched as most believe. I'll be interested to see if he has the greenlight in FIBA or preseason, but if not, this is just another manufactured story in the summer doldrums.

I'm rubey enough to get momentarily excited when I see a video like that, but who knows how he did on the other 50 3-pointers he tried in practice! And yes the two V-boys you mention did develop into good 3-point shooters. But they were also good free throw shooters their entire careers, and Rudy of course is not. I don't want Rudy trying to become anything more than he is. Just set good screens, roll to the basket, and put in offensive rebounds...in addition to continuing to be a defensive stud.

But beyond that, I'm also excited about what the Conley/Gobert pairing adds to our team. They consistently won 50 games together with a supporting cast not equal to KAT/Ant/Jaden/SloMo, etc. And while they are not "young", when I watch video of each of them today compared to 5 years ago, I see little difference. Conley appeared to me much younger in the way he moved than DLo, for example. Lots of reasons to be optimistic about next season!