Minnesota Sports Forum

kekgeek1 wrote:Rudy with a 15 pt (5-6) 7 reb 2 ast in an OT win against Italy yesterday (Spagnolo was not on the Italy roster)

Very nice, but....just don't get hurt!!!!

Q-was-here wrote:

kekgeek1 wrote:Rudy with a 15 pt (5-6) 7 reb 2 ast in an OT win against Italy yesterday (Spagnolo was not on the Italy roster)

Very nice, but....just don't get hurt!!!!

Ya! I wonder how many wolves will be playing in National games this year. Gobert will, sounds like Kat is going to play with the DR. Will Ant get Team USA run?

kekgeek1 wrote:

Q-was-here wrote:

kekgeek1 wrote:Rudy with a 15 pt (5-6) 7 reb 2 ast in an OT win against Italy yesterday (Spagnolo was not on the Italy roster)

Very nice, but....just don't get hurt!!!!

Ya! I wonder how many wolves will be playing in National games this year. Gobert will, sounds like Kat is going to play with the DR. Will Ant get Team USA run?

Good question. We all know how injuries can profoundly impact the NBA and every year there are at least two or three teams who are legit in a good position to make a playoff run whose season gets derailed fairly early by injuries. Gobert and KAT are probably harder to replace than Ant for now since I feel like Nowell can step in and replace about 70% of what Ant produces. No one can replicate Rudy or KAT. Don't get hurt guys!

Today's edition of The Athletic features Jon K interviewing Tony Jones about Gobert. Tony Jones covered Gobert for many years in Utah. Here are some interesting comments/observations Jones shared about Rudy:

TJ: Gobert dominates in ways that are unconventional in this era of basketball. If you don't shoot 3s, and if you aren't aesthetically pleasing, you are going to garner criticism. Gobert has been an easy target in a number of ways, and I'm not going to sit here and claim that he doesn't have his quirks. He's extremely demanding of his teammates. He's extremely honest with the media. It's why he's had run-ins with teammates in the past. But he's never been played off the floor in a postseason situation. His biggest flaw is that you can't attack switches with him offensively. But, where the Jazz had Donovan Mitchell who could attack switches in a playoff setting, the Timberwolves have Edwards, Towns and Russell who can all attack off the bounce in a playoff setting. Much of the criticism Gobert has encountered in his career has been lazy and significantly off the mark. It's irony that not many criticize him for the one thing that is actually valid.

JK: Well, that settles it. I'm starting to plan the parade route right now. What are going to be the biggest obstacles that could get in the way of making the Gobert addition a success?

TJ: There are a couple of things. I worry Gobert won't get the ball enough to be happy in Minnesota. Quietly, one of the biggest quirks of his is that he will demand the basketball and make it known that he isn't getting the basketball. That kind of stuff wears on a locker room over time, and the Wolves have a lot of guys on that roster who need the ball in their hands. Secondly, Towns is going to have to prove he can defend, and that's going to be a big challenge for him. I don't have any doubts that he can play power forward offensively, but whether he can do it defensively remains to be seen. Thirdly, the Timberwolves aren't sneaking up on anyone this season. They are going to be hunted, and how does that shift affect the best players on the roster?


TJ: Gobert's best and worst qualities are his honesty. It's direct and it's brutal. This was a guy who told media this season that Donovan Mitchell should be more like Devin Booker. That being said, Gobert is extremely smart, and he's certainly smart enough to know that he's coming into a locker room as the new kid. So, expect him to ramp back a lot of the leadership stuff this season, and expect him to make a real effort to fit in. Like you said, between Towns and Edwards, there are already strong voices and personalities in the locker room. So, I think Gobert's mentality is going to be to come in and just play basketball.

Tony Jones' comments about Rudy and what he'll likely do for the Wolves were overwhelmingly positive. I'm just included some of the more interesting excerpts and I've bonded the particularly interesting things about him that I didn't know -- his direct and brutal honesty, that he's "extremely demanding" of his teammates and that Gobert might be unhappy if he doesn't get the ball enough. I left out Jones' reference to Rudy's tremendously high level of fitness and how hard he works to maintain that level of fitness. One example Tony gave is that Gobert runs mountains when he gets back from road trips to re-acclimate himself to the attitude in Utah.

I love that Gobert is so driven, honest and demanding of his teammates. However, we'll see if that creates problems with any of his teammates, especially KAT. I also worry a bit about him wanting the ball and getting pissed if he doesn't get it. I don't thing any of those things will become a problem, but it's something to watch for.

Lip I read that article last night. As you pointed out there are some interesting stuff in there. Here are a couple thoughts I had.

1. When I read Gobert runs in the mountains is reminded me of Karl Malone. Obviously they have VERY different body types but Malone was pretty legendary for all the physical work he did to be and keep in shape.

2. If you were worried the Wolves were losing edge in this trade this confirms even more what I thought that Gobert is gonna bring plenty himself. Could Gobert's honesty be a problem? Maybe. Let's remember that Towns has been through dozens of teammates coaches and GMs and he is still here. I don't worry about Towns that much. Meanwhile Edwards I think 2 of his best qualities beyond his talent are his confidence but also willingness to take coaching and stiff from other players. I don't think he is gonna be like "Oh no Rudy yelled at me I'm gonna be pissed at him even though he saved my butt 23 times on defense in that game". Lol maybe Edwards eventually has an ego that won't deal well with that but I'll wait to see that start to happen to be concerned about.

3. It's kinda good Gobert demands the ball. FNG would want him to demand it all the time with how efficient Gobert is!!! :) in all seriousness having a guy like Gobert wanting the ball and probably looking like he wants it on the court makes players even more likely to guard him. It also means he probably isn't just sitting around in the offseason not working on his offensive game. It will be interesting to see what Finch does with him on offense and what Gobert actually has the ability to do.

4. The comments about Gobert being able to run all day and be in great shape were interesting. Gobert is a large human being but he isn't bulky. I think that is good both that he can play uptempo and also for his ability to play into his mid or even late 30's.

Not sure how frustrated Rudy will get with KAT on defense considering he played with Bogdanovic next to him at PF last season. Regardless, we need a new leader on the floor defensively with PatBev gone and hopefully Rudy isn't afraid to get in people's faces. It can't just be him and Jaden trying to stop people.

Offensively, I can definitely see Rudy getting frustrated with Ant in particular. Ant isn't a bad passer, but he isn't a good passer yet. Scoring the ball runs in his blood and he misses open guys, whether it's the quick swing pass to KAT for an open 3 or finding someone in the dunker's spot. As Monster said, hopefully Ant embraces the feedback from Gobert and doesn't get uptight about it.

Rudy's comments after the French team's recent loss to Germany:

"No one said it's going to be easy," said France star center Rudy Gobert. "We are facing this team at their home. We aren't good today. We got way too many turnovers. And they were very physical. We got to find ways to play our game when the other team is physical and the game isn't played our way." Gobert finished the game with a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds but struggled with the double-teaming and the traps that the German defense had prepared for him. He assumed responsibility for the mistakes he made, confident that the real Gobert will appear in the next matches. "I wasn't good," Gobert said. "I know I'm going to be better. I missed a lot of free throws. I missed a lot of things that I think I can make. If I raise my level and we take care of the ball, it's a different game."- via EuroHoops.net

Gobert is a great defender. But you don't want the ball in his hands much on the offensive end. Edwards and KAT had better stay healthy this season. If we lose one of those two for an extended period, the Jazz might end up with two lottery picks next June.

I'm not hearing good things about his play over there

Gobert had 15 points, 9 rebounds and 1 block against Hungry yesterday. I didn't see any NBA players on Hungary's roster. Meanwhile, Valanciunas had 34 points, 14 rebounds and 2 blocks against Germany. Maybe Gobert is just going through the motions. I'm imagining a 30 year old Shaq or Mutombo playing for France yesterday against Hungry. Shaq would have probably had 4 blocks, 15 rebounds and 35 points. Mutombo would have probably had 7 blocks and 15 rebounds.

lipoli390 wrote:Gobert had 15 points, 9 rebounds and 1 block against Hungry yesterday. I didn't see any NBA players on Hungary's roster. Meanwhile, Valanciunas had 34 points, 14 rebounds and 2 blocks against Germany. Maybe Gobert is just going through the motions. I'm imagining a 30 year old Shaq or Mutombo playing for France yesterday against Hungry. Shaq would have probably had 4 blocks, 15 rebounds and 35 points. Mutombo would have probably had 7 blocks and 15 rebounds.

I'm not sure this is a knock on Rudy Gobert, Lip. We know what Gobert is and isn't at this point in his career, and he isn't a big that you can simply drop the ball off into the post and let him operate. His offense is largely reliant on his team's guard play and his ability to attack the offensive glass for putbacks. It should also be noted that France's guard play has been underwhelming, to say the least -- a far cry from what he'll have around him with the Timberwolves.

Gobert is limited on that end, no doubt, but he's elite at what he actually can do in terms of scoring around the rim and setting screens (ranking number one last season in screen assists by a solid margin). We won't be relying on him to score, but rather his value will come in the flow of the offense and as an absolute anchor defensively. I'm not expecting many 30-point games from Gobert over the course of his tenure with Minnesota, but I am expecting a steady influx of wins and top-ranked defenses. That's just what he does.