If you’ve watched the Jazz this season, you probably already know that too. One stark number is the impact on the scoreboard when Rudy plays and Rudy sits. Rudy Gobert is the best defender in the nba and it’s not particularly close /XtKD2IKno6- Felix Kopyto April 1, 2022 Charts like this for numerous stats show Gobert as an outlier. If you’re reading this, you probably already know that. If you’re judging defensive impact by any sort of reputable statistics, Rudy is the clear leader. Rather than bemoan the woes of voter fatigue and narratives surrounding guarding 1–5, let’s take this opportunity to appreciate Gobert and his impact, and in so doing make the case for why he still belongs in the conversation. It’s disappointing, but many of the reasons Gobert now finds himself as a long shot were issues we examined as obstacles last week, including voter fatigue, team success, and narratives about Gobert’s playoff and perimeter defense. With the regular season nearly over, Gobert’s chances of nabbing his fourth DPOY trophy are now slim. Marcus Smart is the favorite, with Bam Adebayo and Mikal Bridges close behind. The Jazz had a pair of miserable fall-from-ahead losses, and Gobert has slid outside the top three in most Vegas odds. The NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year race has shifted since we started our look at Rudy Gobert’s chances of a fourth award. Having a shot at winning it all is also the expectation in Minnesota, where Gobert joins Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell.Gobert remains an absolute defensive force for the Utah Jazz (NBAE via ) For them, I really hope they’re going to be able to get better and better and hopefully get back to that stage that we were when the Jazz were first in the Western Conference and truly believed they had a chance a title.” They put me on a team that I can keep flourishing and hopefully win a championship. “They also put me in a great situation to win. “I think it could potentially be a win-win situation,” Gobert said. Gobert also knows his new team, having read their fans’ Twitter comments over the last nine years. With nearly a decade in the league-all of it with the Jazz after being selected 27th overall out of France by Denver in 2013-the 7-footer understands the position his old team was in after getting bounced in the first round of the playoffs three of the last four years. Head coach Quin Snyder resigned following the team’s first-round playoff exit to Dallas, and starting forward Royce O’Neale was traded to the Nets for a 2023 first-round pick.ĭonovan Mitchell sends cryptic tweet after Jazz trades That wasn’t the only change for the Jazz this offseason. In exchange for sending Gobert to Minnesota, Utah got four future first-round picks, plus Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Leandro Bolmaro, Jarred Vanderbilt and 2022 first-round pick Walker Kessler. It just felt like with all the assets they could get for me, that it was better for them to go that way.” Rudy Gobert during the introductory press conference for the Timberwolves after being traded from the Jazz. “I think they’re still obviously going to be a very competitive team. I think the organization felt like that we had maybe passed that window that we had over the last few years. “Sometimes the window for winning is not always big, and for us in Utah, that’s kind of what happened. “It’s a good question,” Gobert told reporters in his first comments since being traded. The answer was telling, as much about the 30-year-old four-time All-NBA selection as it was about the state of the franchise that netted a cadre of draft picks and players in return. Specifically, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year was asked why he thinks the Jazz dealt him. Now that the question of what is going on in Utah was answered with the blockbuster trade last week of Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves, another one loomed on Wednesday. It’s ‘championship or bust’ for this NBA team after blockbuster dealĪ-Rod: Timberwolves ‘taking a swing at it’ with blockbuster trade Rudy Gobert confronted by Jazz star after breaking ‘unwritten rule’ĭonovan Mitchell told Jazz not to trade Rudy Gobert: ‘Let’s figure this out’
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |