Minnesota Sports Forum

This trade is a big bet on Towns moving to power forward. Does anyone have insight on how that might go? His 3 pt shooting is elite and he took a big step this season on getting to the hoop, so I think the question mark is more on defense than offense. Did he play the 4 with Cauley-Stein at Kentucky?

I'd think getting to the hoop would be harder with Gobert's defender in, or closer to the paint.

TheSP wrote:I'd think getting to the hoop would be harder with Gobert's defender in, or closer to the paint.

Rudy Gobert will likely be operating in the dunker spot or setting high ball screens and diving to the rim offensively. That's not all that different from how Jarred Vanderbilt was used -- except Gobert can theoretically make free throw line jumpers occasionally so the short roll is in his bag as well. Anyways, I tend to think Minnesota's spacing will be excellent even with the non-shooting Gobert hanging around the paint. I also feel much more comfortable with Gobert receiving drop-off passes and lobs from penetrating guards than what we had last year.

Camden wrote:

TheSP wrote:I'd think getting to the hoop would be harder with Gobert's defender in, or closer to the paint.

Rudy Gobert will likely be operating in the dunker spot or setting high ball screens and diving to the rim offensively. That's not all that different from how Jarred Vanderbilt was used -- except Gobert can theoretically make free throw line jumpers occasionally so the short roll is in his bag as well. Anyways, I tend to think Minnesota's spacing will be excellent even with the non-shooting Gobert hanging around the paint. I also feel much more comfortable with Gobert receiving drop-off passes and lobs from penetrating guards than what we had last year.

Guess who had the most efficient offense in the NBA last year? Utah! Gobert was a major reason why. He is a legit two-way force and a super reliable target in the paint.

Gobert had a usage of 17% and over 70 TS% (!!!) compared to Vando's 11% usage and 60 TS%. I mean, it's not even close.

Teams shade off Gobert at their own risk.

Q-was-here wrote:

Camden wrote:

TheSP wrote:I'd think getting to the hoop would be harder with Gobert's defender in, or closer to the paint.

Rudy Gobert will likely be operating in the dunker spot or setting high ball screens and diving to the rim offensively. That's not all that different from how Jarred Vanderbilt was used -- except Gobert can theoretically make free throw line jumpers occasionally so the short roll is in his bag as well. Anyways, I tend to think Minnesota's spacing will be excellent even with the non-shooting Gobert hanging around the paint. I also feel much more comfortable with Gobert receiving drop-off passes and lobs from penetrating guards than what we had last year.

Guess who had the most efficient offense in the NBA last year? Utah! Gobert was a major reason why. He is a legit two-way force and a super reliable target in the paint.

Gobert had a usage of 17% and over 70 TS% (!!!) compared to Vando's 11% usage and 60 TS%. I mean, it's not even close.

Teams shade off Gobert at their own risk.

He also was #1 in it nba in screen assists

I like it. I think he has demonstrated that he had at least average quickness and footwork to guard most PF's on the perimeter. And I heard another good point on the radio this morning. Keeping KAT away from the basket may reduce a lot of the silly offensive fouls that too often put him on the bench (although he will have to control his impulse to kick out on threes).

FNG wrote:I like it. I think he has demonstrated that he had at least average quickness and footwork to guard most PF's on the perimeter. And I heard another good point on the radio this morning. Keeping KAT away from the basket may reduce a lot of the silly offensive fouls that too often put him on the bench (although he will have to control his impulse to kick out on threes).

I don't know about that. KAT loves to get set at the 3, then turn into a NFL running back at times, then bitch at the ref.

I've raised the broader question of how we should deal with lineup issues in the Gobert thread (check out page 16, 17, and 18) in preparation for playoff opponents, and this Towns question is a key part of it. I encourage people to check that out and respond there to the broader issue.

As far as Towns specifically is concerned, I think Sundog is probably right to be a bit more concerned about the defensive end if we're talking about Towns one-on-one. He'll have to guard more mobile perimeter players now, at least when opponents have a fourth ballhandler. Again, check out the lists of what I think might be the toughest opponent lineups in that Gobert thread to see who he might have the most trouble with. But, he's gotten a bit better at this, and more importantly, he'll have Gobert behind him when he does that now. In the past, he was basically the last line of defense in situations like that. Now the pressure's somewhat off. Gobert can guard whoever is the worst shooter on the opposing team, as long as it's not a speedy guard. KAT should probably guard whoever is the least-likely ball handler, since that will make his life easier on the perimeter. Also, his length is really going to help out on shot intimidation on the perimeter for those guys, and defending the 3 point line has been a problem for us. So I think this can actually be a good thing for KAT defensively. The good thing is that I think Anderson and McDaniels are both really good perimeter defenders and both are really long, so if an opposing team has a long guy who can handle the ball with some quickness, they should be able to take him and KAT can take slower guys. And again, we'll have Gobert roaming the paint. The dude is awesome at stopping problems caused by perimeter penetration.

I like it. I think he has demonstrated that he had at least average quickness and footwork to guard most PF's on the perimeter. And I heard another good point on the radio this morning. Keeping KAT away from the basket may reduce a lot of the silly offensive fouls that too often put him on the bench (although he will have to control his impulse to kick out on threes).

TheFuture wrote:

FNG wrote:I like it. I think he has demonstrated that he had at least average quickness and footwork to guard most PF's on the perimeter. And I heard another good point on the radio this morning. Keeping KAT away from the basket may reduce a lot of the silly offensive fouls that too often put him on the bench (although he will have to control his impulse to kick out on threes).

I don't know about that. KAT loves to get set at the 3, then turn into a NFL running back at times, then bitch at the ref.

Can't argue, Future...there is that.

I've always looked at KAT as more "4" than "5". I think he will flourish in that role. He won't be great defensively on the perimeter, but he can hold his own with his length. It's not easy to shoot over him as his length is flying at you. On offense he's going to be even better. You will probably see his passing skills more on display, and I would think he will team up with Rudy on a lot of draw and feeds. KAT benefits quite a bit from this deal.