The importance of Rudy

[D-Loser25]

Somewhat bold prediction - i think we’ll see at least one of Rudy/Naz/Randle traded by the deadline

[Wolvesfan21]

I think Gafford instead of Rudy would improve this team. Try making that trade and see what Dallas says before they hang up the phone. Rudy cannot catch the basketball and is a terrible passer. The type of passer you see in a rec gym in someone who just took up the game. He also can't put the ball on the floor, not that you would ever want him to, but real basketball players can at least do that a little bit. Sure he can set a screen, but he's a horrible offensive player.

The reality is he's highly functional and good on offense despite not looking fluid or pretty. You don't like how it looks and it does look clunky! Who gives a crap!

Player A- Shoots 76%, OffRTG 117.6, DefRTG 106.5, Assist/TO ratio 0.88, Reb% 14.4, On/Off +7.4 points

Player B- Shoots 64%, OffRTG 101.6, DefRTG 107.7, Assist/TO ratio 0.80, Reb% 12.5, On/Off -3.1 points

Player A is Rudy and player B is Gafford this year. Rudy shoots it better, assists to turnover better, Off and Def RTG better, Rebounds better, is a net positive on/off the court, the other is not and it's not even close between the two. Rudy is superior in every way. You could pull up career stats too if you want.

[AussieWolf3]

Good analysis Aussie.

On #1, I agree.

On #2, keep in mind he's no longer paid like the perennial DPOY he was in Utah and first couple years in Minnesota (as a % of the overall salary cap).

On #3, he's always struggled at times with certain one-on-one matchups. He's not an individual "stopper" per se, but just an elite team defender that helps cover for others.

On #4, yes, he has to do better against better teams. That has been more of an issue this season so far.

On not winning a title or getting to the Finals with Rudy as the starting Center, I think that's true so long as we are so dependent on him to play competent team defense. But that's not a Rudy problem, that's a Connelly/Finch problem!

Fix the non-Rudy defense so Finch has more options versus having to "survive" those minutes and always being forced to get Rudy back in the game!

I think you're more on the nose then I am here. It's over stating the fact to say he shouldn't be the starting center, but like I said- I can't get over how much of a non factor he was for most of the playoffs. It wasn't that he was bad actually, he just had his minutes reduced by a lot and was rarely a dominant presence.

To that point, the problem isn't really his defense against good teams, although skilled bigs are a problem for him, but rather he such a liability on offense cause he can't just bully bad teams on the glass.

This is why they need solve the puzzle for the non Rudy minutes. I've said it plenty at this point but I would really like to see a 5 out offense with Jaden playing center. His new found shooting prowess really opens up a new dimension on offense.

Ant
Dante
Naz
Julius
Jaden

Would be a handful on offense. There is actually good size in that lineup so rebounding shouldn't be a problem but it certainly would be and that is scary, but that lineup would be able to play with pace and lights out shooting.
I hope they can test run it throughout the season

That very lineup played 113 minutes together last season over the course of 32 games. They had a net rating of -4.3. Their defense was actually solid (Drtg of 108.9), but their offense was pretty bad (Ortg of 104.6), which is hard to understand. After all, isn't the whole idea that Rudy sitting on the bench would supercharge the offense!?! Not the case last season with this lineup!

That doesn't mean it won't work well THIS season or in the playoffs, but just conveying some data from last season. It's not a huge sample which is hard to get for 5-man combinations.

Ooooo thanks for that data!
I'm actually not that surprised the offense was bad. Jaden was pretty bad on offense most of last year and Dante was still settling into his role.
The way those two are playing now tho, with the way Julius is playing and with how they all are getting better at playing with pace- I think they'd be really good

[Q-is-here]

I think Gafford instead of Rudy would improve this team. Try making that trade and see what Dallas says before they hang up the phone. Rudy cannot catch the basketball and is a terrible passer. The type of passer you see in a rec gym in someone who just took up the game. He also can't put the ball on the floor, not that you would ever want him to, but real basketball players can at least do that a little bit. Sure he can set a screen, but he's a horrible offensive player.

The reality is he's highly functional and good on offense despite not looking fluid or pretty. You don't like how it looks and it does look clunky! Who gives a crap!

Player A- Shoots 76%, OffRTG 117.6, DefRTG 106.5, Assist/TO ratio 0.88, Reb% 14.4, On/Off +7.4 points

Player B- Shoots 64%, OffRTG 101.6, DefRTG 107.7, Assist/TO ratio 0.80, Reb% 12.5, On/Off -3.1 points

Player A is Rudy and player B is Gafford this year. Rudy shoots it better, assists to turnover better, Off and Def RTG better, Rebounds better, is a net positive on/off the court, the other is not and it's not even close between the two. Rudy is superior in every way. You could pull up career stats too if you want.

Cool obviously has his mind made up that Rudy is awful and no amount of stats or cajoling are going to convince him otherwise.

Gafford has always been more of a part-time player, albeit a solid one. He has a career average of 20 MPG in the regular season and playoffs. There is a reason for that.

[Q-is-here]

I think you're more on the nose then I am here. It's over stating the fact to say he shouldn't be the starting center, but like I said- I can't get over how much of a non factor he was for most of the playoffs. It wasn't that he was bad actually, he just had his minutes reduced by a lot and was rarely a dominant presence.

To that point, the problem isn't really his defense against good teams, although skilled bigs are a problem for him, but rather he such a liability on offense cause he can't just bully bad teams on the glass.

This is why they need solve the puzzle for the non Rudy minutes. I've said it plenty at this point but I would really like to see a 5 out offense with Jaden playing center. His new found shooting prowess really opens up a new dimension on offense.

Ant
Dante
Naz
Julius
Jaden

Would be a handful on offense. There is actually good size in that lineup so rebounding shouldn't be a problem but it certainly would be and that is scary, but that lineup would be able to play with pace and lights out shooting.
I hope they can test run it throughout the season

That very lineup played 113 minutes together last season over the course of 32 games. They had a net rating of -4.3. Their defense was actually solid (Drtg of 108.9), but their offense was pretty bad (Ortg of 104.6), which is hard to understand. After all, isn't the whole idea that Rudy sitting on the bench would supercharge the offense!?! Not the case last season with this lineup!

That doesn't mean it won't work well THIS season or in the playoffs, but just conveying some data from last season. It's not a huge sample which is hard to get for 5-man combinations.

Ooooo thanks for that data!
I'm actually not that surprised the offense was bad. Jaden was pretty bad on offense most of last year and Dante was still settling into his role.
The way those two are playing now tho, with the way Julius is playing and with how they all are getting better at playing with pace- I think they'd be really good

Yeah, Jaden really struggled to start last season, as did DDV.

I think you could also replace DDV with Clark in that lineup above and perhaps be OK defensively yet still have plenty of shot makers on the floor. We can check in on the lineup data as more games are played, but right now it's too small of a sample size when looking at 5-man units.

[FNG]

Interesting stat from Chris Hine today on Dane's pod that I would not have anticipated. With Rudy on the bench, the Wolves have had a DRtg of 110 the past 5 games. Granted we have had some cupcakes in that 5 game series, but still...that's very good. Rudy will continue to be vital to our success, but improved defense in the non-Rudy minutes brings us to a new level...especially if Naz has also found his offensive game.

[AussieWolf3]

Interesting stat from Chris Hine today on Dane's pod that I would not have anticipated. With Rudy on the bench, the Wolves have had a DRtg of 110 the past 5 games. Granted we have had some cupcakes in that 5 game series, but still...that's very good. Rudy will continue to be vital to our success, but improved defense in the non-Rudy minutes brings us to a new level...especially if Naz has also found his offensive game.

That is very encouraging.

I wonder what the lineup combinations are

[FNG]

Interesting stat from Chris Hine today on Dane's pod that I would not have anticipated. With Rudy on the bench, the Wolves have had a DRtg of 110 the past 5 games. Granted we have had some cupcakes in that 5 game series, but still...that's very good. Rudy will continue to be vital to our success, but improved defense in the non-Rudy minutes brings us to a new level...especially if Naz has also found his offensive game.

That is very encouraging.

I wonder what the lineup combinations are

I was listening in the gym, Aussie, so I missed some of it. But I think I heard there was a lot of Clark. Not surprising. Did anyone else hear the pod?

[Wolvesfan21]

I think Gafford instead of Rudy would improve this team. Try making that trade and see what Dallas says before they hang up the phone. Rudy cannot catch the basketball and is a terrible passer. The type of passer you see in a rec gym in someone who just took up the game. He also can't put the ball on the floor, not that you would ever want him to, but real basketball players can at least do that a little bit. Sure he can set a screen, but he's a horrible offensive player.

The reality is he's highly functional and good on offense despite not looking fluid or pretty. You don't like how it looks and it does look clunky! Who gives a crap!

Player A- Shoots 76%, OffRTG 117.6, DefRTG 106.5, Assist/TO ratio 0.88, Reb% 14.4, On/Off +7.4 points

Player B- Shoots 64%, OffRTG 101.6, DefRTG 107.7, Assist/TO ratio 0.80, Reb% 12.5, On/Off -3.1 points

Player A is Rudy and player B is Gafford this year. Rudy shoots it better, assists to turnover better, Off and Def RTG better, Rebounds better, is a net positive on/off the court, the other is not and it's not even close between the two. Rudy is superior in every way. You could pull up career stats too if you want.

Cool obviously has his mind made up that Rudy is awful and no amount of stats or cajoling are going to convince him otherwise.

Gafford has always been more of a part-time player, albeit a solid one. He has a career average of 20 MPG in the regular season and playoffs. There is a reason for that.

He has, Cool likes flash over substance. I'd rather win then be a pretty looking loser.

[Q-is-here]

Interesting stat from Chris Hine today on Dane's pod that I would not have anticipated. With Rudy on the bench, the Wolves have had a DRtg of 110 the past 5 games. Granted we have had some cupcakes in that 5 game series, but still...that's very good. Rudy will continue to be vital to our success, but improved defense in the non-Rudy minutes brings us to a new level...especially if Naz has also found his offensive game.

That is very encouraging.

I wonder what the lineup combinations are

I was listening in the gym, Aussie, so I missed some of it. But I think I heard there was a lot of Clark. Not surprising. Did anyone else hear the pod?

I haven't listened to it, but part of it is some regression to the mean. We weren't going to keep being THAT bad with Rudy on the bench. The other part of it probably has to do with Ant and Clark getting back into the mix. A lot of those terrible non-Rudy numbers stacked up when Clark and/or Ant were out of action. While Ant can run a little hot and cold with his defense, he's still better than all our other guards not named Jaylen Clark. And Clark is hands down our best point of attack defender.