The Rudy Gobert Dilemma

Rudy Gobert had a fantastic game on paper, but the film tells a different story. In the second quarter, Minnesota squandered a ton of opportunities to seize some control of the game. Today we go over the Rudy Gobert dilemma and why he's struggled to make an impact on the series.
Produced By Daniel Li
Music:
🎵 Track Info:
Title: Hot Coffee by Ghostrifter Official
Genre and Mood: Hip Hop & Rap · Calm
🎧 Available on:
SoundCloud:
/ ghostrifter-of​​​
KZbin: youtube.com/watch?v=6WqPKfW_S...
​
​Subscribe for more NBA videos! If you enjoyed this video, I will love you if you leave a like.
"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use."

[@sgrey9181]

Side note: I love how the footage is sped up, and everyone looks like they’re zooming around the court, except for Kyle Anderson who looks like he’s moving at the speed of a normal player

[@xbugswrld]

Minnesota lost this game not defensively but offensively. They played Gobert and Anderson together, 2 non shooters, which meant Denver could blitz Ant every time he got the ball and Ant could never get going. Minnesota kept Gobert on the floor even when Jokic was out because Naz and KAT were in foul trouble so they had no other option. The wolves kept getting Gobert to set a screen for Ant and it never worked as Denver kept blitzing off the screen and Minnesota never adjusted. Minnesota should start Naz instead of Rudy for game 6 to allow Ant to play more freely offensively plus Naz has been great on Jokic this series.

[@michaelahurt]

Playing Anderson is smart. When they put two on Ant you have a 4-on-3 so you need _playmakers_ not shooters. Especially since Denver can recover to the far corner shooter. Naz, KAT, McDaniels and Gobert can't further the advantage Ant is creating to put Denver in rotation. They need to play Anderson *more* not less. Naz is better in the short roll than Rudy but not as good as Anderson.

[@Jonathan-A.C.]

@@michaelahurt It’s also a matter of Ant not yet being very proficient in getting out of double coverage

[@michaelahurt]

@@Jonathan-A.C. Isn't that more about his teammates? Like no offense but you're gonna look a lot better swinging the ball to Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown and Al Horford than NAW, Jaden McDaniels, Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid and KAT. Tatum isn't exactly Luka Doncic. He just makes the pass the defense gives him and he has better teammates so it looks a lot better. When that outlet guy can take the pass and get downhill and draw the weakside defender and kick for a corner three that isn't because of Tatum or Ant or Shai or Brunson or whoever is being doubled. Making a pocket pass to Al Horford or Chet is gonna have a very different result than making the same pass to Gobert.

[@Jonathan-A.C.]

@@michaelahurt No, I mean Ant’s ability to get past getting doubled, not his teammates not shooting or playmaking of play finishing well enough. They didn’t do that well last game, but he’s also not that good at getting doubled and getting out of it. I don’t think Ant is shit at all-quite the contrary, actually…but he isn’t proficient in that specific respect, and Denver was able to use that to their advantage by doubling

[@mudkipmilk]

Feel like this narrative happens every time with Gobert when they run into good teams that will scheme around his limitations.

[@xbugswrld]

Except Denver aren't gameplanning around trying to expose Gobert like LAC did when he was in Utah, Jokic is just going 1 on 1 and Jokic is a way higher level offensively than Gobert is at defensively. There is no answer to Jokic, if these wolves cant stop Jokic than no one else left in the playoffs can

[@Ryancelot]

if youre getting paid 200M to be your team's weakness, you deserve all the heat.

[@ybwkel5836]

@@Ryancelotthank you

[@Jonathan-A.C.]

He didn’t have the perimeter defenders on his teams before, and now that he does, he’s defending amazingly. Jokic is just that good

[@Jonathan-A.C.]

@@xbugswrld To be fair, perhaps a team can win with their offense overcoming Denver’s. But yeah, no team can come close defensively

[@beegtea]

I was so annoyed watching this game, Rudy always had a guy 7 inches shorter than him deep in the paint but no one passed to him

[@glovs4188]

If you pass to him you prolly gonna commit a turnover or hes gonna turn the ball over.

[@Mou_men]

cuz he's trash

[@beegtea]

@@glovs4188 yeah he got ripped like twice but that’s because they threw terrible entry passes. Man is 7’1, throw it up high and every big man knows don’t bring the ball down when you don’t have to

[@SAVESEIDI]

@@beegteaevery big man does not know that😂 he doesn’t. In game, he doesn’t protect the ball when making a move

[@Freesilver92]

He doesn’t have hands or a simple post move. Nor does he use his physicality to dunk it. Same story why Mitchell wound never pass him the ball on the Jazz. Edit: also forgot he can’t shoot free throws that well. If he just had a single move or used his lower body better I think it’d be a different story

[@hiimsenpai]

Why are the basketball analysts NOT talking about this aspect!? Love this video and the breakdown of how much of a liability offensively Gobert is. Its like Shaq said years ago, if you wanna make it to the league as a big man just be able to score 10 points, 15 rebounds and 2 steals/blocks

[@michaelahurt]

Every decent analyst has been talking about this for five years.

[@badmontad]

This is why you need mike conley. Mike conley makes those passes when gobert has a mismatch

[@Jonathan-A.C.]

Good point

[@matthewlillis2982]

Somehow I just knew this vid was coming when Jokic went off yesterday

[@hamishsherwood654]

I think mentioning his offensive limitations is accurate but maybe not securing offensive rebounds isn't the best example of that. The poor spacing and not using him for that lob is definitely a reason. Conley has been the only one who has really looked for him all season

[@michaelahurt]

The offensive rebounds is relevant because he's not very good at rebounding out of his area. You can switch smalls into him with impunity because he can't punish you for doing it. But he definitely benefits from playing with multiple good passers who can create passing angles to get him lobs. He'd be much better with Luka or Harden than Ant or Mitchell.

[@mfjh505]

Denver found the achilles heel.

[@jlui21]

-- could rename that heel the Gobert heel? lol

[@Jonathan-A.C.]

Not really. I mean in terms of Minnesota’s offense, I see that. But defensively, they’re as good as ever. Jokic is just better

[@tarico4436]

Coaching and a couple of tweaks, and Gobert would be a winning cog of this wolfie machine. His teammates need to pass it to him more when he's (pretty much) open in the key, and he needs to quit fumbling when they do pass it to him. I wonder what his plus/minus is. Surprising how the Antman just disappeared this last game.

[@retrictumrectus1010]

He and Reid had the lowest at -2. This is one of the reasons I won't be that hard against Gobert.

[@tarico4436]

@@retrictumrectus1010 Thanks. Please don't look it up, but I wonder what Gobert's plus/minus has been during the reg season, during the playoffs, against +500 teams and etc. Somehow he won and deserved to win Def Play of year, but often I watch the team play, and it looks as though he's the weak link. Oh well, I'm just a casual. Coaches know. He was definitely worth what the dogs traded to get him.

[@Jonathan-A.C.]

@@tarico4436 Last game was just Jokic putting in work, but I think it’s mainly Rudy’s lacking offense that’s the main issue. For all the defense, he’s not elite at offense. One could even say below average in some regards, which isn’t good for a major starter

[@tarico4436]

@@Jonathan-A.C. Gobert's well below average on offense. He'll set some screens, but how often is he part of a successful pick-and-roll move on offense? Not very. Again, this is partly teammates not trusting him, partly him fumbling the ball when they do. Sadly, I don't think his offense will improve. The one thing he can improve on is him not going after the refs, making the "money" sign with his fingers, signaling that they're being paid to throw games.

[@JeremyGraczyk]

After game 2, Jokic was asked what he can do against MN's 3 bigs. He said clone himself. This was directly after game 2 when Gobert didn't play - the 3 bigs Jokic was talking about were KAT, Naz and Kyle. Do you know how I know? Without Gobert, the Wolves have to have one of Naz or KAT on the floor at all times. KAT and Naz are the only 2 players on the Wolves capable of getting low enough to counter Joker's center of gravity and strength. Rudy cannot get low enough and does not have the mass or center of gravity even if he could bend his knees to get low enough. Kyle was on Jokic a handful of times in game 2 BUT ONLY AFTER KAT WAS ABLE TO BATTLE HIM, WEAR HIM DOWN AND FRUSTRATE HIM. Once you frustrate Jokic, he has to exert more mental and physical energy on the one thing he is currently doing instead of giving him the ability to look for a shot or pass or make a move. Because of this, Kyle was able to get a number of poke-aways on Jokic. That's really all Kyle can do on Jokic anyways, and if Jokic is not frustrated and tired, he is not going to turn the ball over from Kyle reaching in. KAT and/or Naz HAVE TO BE IN WHEN JOKIC IS. They have to do everything in their power to stick to him on screens / switches. If Joker wants to stand up at the top of the key or 3 point line and look to shoot/pass? Fine, live with that. The moment he decides to dribble, you need to get into his body and play him physical. No reach-ins, no bumping him back, no shot block attempts - you stay up on him and make him work for every little thing he wants to do. Again, Gobert is not capable of staying up on Jokic. There are numerous examples of Jokic backing Rudy up and knocking him off balance and literally shoving him back a few feet. He can also do this to both KAT and Naz when they play soft and give him space. NO SPACE. NO EASY BACKDOWNS. GET LOW, GET UP ON HIM AND MAKE HIM WORK. This will frustrate Jokic, and that's the only chance you have of making him make mistakes or not make the correct read on plays.

[@michaelahurt]

Good analysis but it's give and take. When Gobert has been off the last three games Denver's other players can get to the rim easier. They need to play with the intensity they did in game 2 where I don't think they missed a rotation the first 30 minutes. But idk if that's really possible. Maybe in game 6.

[@JeremyGraczyk]

@@michaelahurt I'm not saying Gobert has to be off the court. He just has to be kept away from guarding Jokic at all costs. He cannot be in there at the same time as Kyle Anderson, unless KAT or Naz is still in. Will the Nuggets work to get the switch? Yes, but that's where the Wolves coaching is supposed to come into play to figure out - do we stunt on Joker, do we try to get a body in front of him for a charge? Even if Rudy ends up on Jokic, *it needs to be difficult*. He has to be made to work and fight for anything he tries to do. The only way to do that without getting in foul trouble is keep KAT / Naz on him, keep them low, stable, feet ready to shuffle, and up against his body. No double teams, no reach-ins, no bumping hard back into him (which is almost always frustration on KAT's part). No gambling leaving your feet on shot block attempts. Until you get him worn down and tired, you play him extremely physical while avoiding anything that could give the refs a reason to call a foul.

[@michaelahurt]

@@JeremyGraczyk If you trap it's a 4-on-3 with no rim protection. If you drop Jokic will go downhill and turn it into a post up and if you double the post it's a lob to AG or Jokic is dotting the corner or a cutter. If you stunt then Rudy is 25 feet from the rim and Jokic is going around him or it turns into a 4-on-3 or lob or three because Rudy can't recover fast enough The only coaching strategy to keep Gobert off Jokic is to play zone and/or pre-switch so he's never in the action. But Jokic/Denver will find a way to exploit that too. There is no answer. That's why so many people call him the best offensive player ever The only thing that was effective was when the refs let Naz and KAT get in his legs in game 2 and actually push him but that seems like a one off. Not just because they aren't allowing that much physicality but because Denver is running Jokic off staggers now so those guys can't load up and Jokic can catch against a moving defender The safest bet is to take Rudy off the court and just double any matchup you don't like as they did in game two. Plus it helps the offense to take Rudy off

[@JeremyGraczyk]

@@michaelahurt I personally don't think Gobert or SloMo should be on the floor when Jokic is so that there's even less risk of switching onto him. But realistically Finch is just not going to do that. So you have to gameplan what you do if they get the switch. Like I said, if they look to screen for Jokic? The screener's man needs to get in his way, whether that be stunt or try to draw a charge. The only way Rudy is stunting on Jokic 25ft away from the basket is if Gobert and Gordon do the pick and roll, which I haven't seen them do. Usually they try to get a switch for Jokic using a 2-man screen in the free throw zone, which is why it should be possible for someone to get in front of him and draw a charge. I didn't say it would be easy to stick to Joker or battle him, but they have to try. Its the only thing that works against him. There are other videos on KZbin literally showing this - there's one from about a year ago showing PJ freaking Tucker having success guarding Jokic this way!! Jokic was cooking Embiid of all people in the 1st half and the Nuggets scored 73 pts. 2nd half they put PJ on him, who's both strong and lower than Jokic's center of gravity, and the 76ers came back to win that game because Joker got frustrated and made mistakes

[@michaelahurt]

@@JeremyGraczyk I'm sorry you haven't seen them run the Jokic-Gordon PnR? I remember the PJ Tucker game. That wasn't the playoffs. Also, KAT and Naz aren't PJ Tucker. 6'11" guys can't create the same leverage as a 6'5" guy. That's like saying a 6'5" 330 pound DT should just put leverage guys like Aaron Donald does. That's not how physics works. (They also can't navigate screens like PJ Tucker because, again, they aren't 6'5" perimeter defenders.) But that's the same thing LA was doing with Rui/LeBron instead of Tucker. How did that work? Jokic is going to solve anything you throw at him.

[@ctcsback]

Thanks for this video. This game was frustrating to watch given how smooth the Wolves looked in games 1 & 2. Seems like they have no go-to play to get Ant open and his off-ball movement is very lacking. The rest of the players just aren't good enough to expose the nuggets defense. The Rudy Gobert dilemna is a very accurate description of what the Wolves need to address strategically if they want to force a game 7. And the rest of the team needs to be way more locked in to offset their lack of offensive advantage.

[@YunisRajab]

I never thought that I would ever say 7/7 for 18 is a net negative offensively but this really was

[@lalremruatpuiarenthlei4665]

Still can't believe Minnesota gave up 5 first round picks for Gobert. Lemme be clear Rudy is great and he has definitely helped TWolves be better. And no one can stop Jokic. Not blaming him for the loss, just disappointed at the Minnesota franchise for giving up so much.

[@jasonkim4994]

Dude they got young players, made 3rd seed in the west, had the top defense in the league with a dpoy/defensive culture changer in rudy, swept the suns, taking the defending champs with a 3 time mvp to 6 games, all with a soaring superstar in anthony edwards.. Also, first round draft picks are generally overrated, especially when you are a top 3 seed in the west. What more do you want? The rudy gobert trade talk should be dead. It was a successful trade

[@xbugswrld]

casual

[@andylin357]

cant believe idiots are still saying this LOL

[@Bleop]

@@jasonkim4994still a bad trade

[@JetEngine85]

Did you watch the video? He was so wide open so many times and didn't get the ball then you blame him?

[@kerm281]

I keep saying take the bear out. Wolves need to continue what works during game one and two with gobear on the bench. When he’s out on court the wolves have 0% offensive power cause he can’t shoot threes .

[@TheGbelcher]

If Gobert is just going to get cooked like everyone else you might as well play someone who can contribute on offense

[@Jonathan-A.C.]

He’s still defending better than most if not all other players, as well defending generally well beyond Jokic if he has the opportunity. The other dudes couldn’t play as much because they were in foul trouble, but even if they were, Gobert is pretty much the best player out there. Jokic is just better

[@josephzepeda7608]

I think a lot of this is on the coaches. It shouldn't be impossible to use Gobert as a weapon on offense just from his size alone. If he gets a guard onto him, he should immediately set a high post screen for KAT, who is capable of punishing a little guy down low. This team doesn't adjust as fast as Denver does.

[@athanjourdan9312]

i keep trying to tell people that gobert actually is a playoff liability but yall are looking at the wrong end of the floor. His hands are made of stones and he doesnt have a single go to move inside the paint. they playing 4v5

[@joshuadavis5899]

He literally shot 100 percent and had 18 pts (same as ant) and had 1 to while ant had 4 Kat had 2 and McDaniels had 3. I agree he has his limitations on offense but blaming the losses on him is stupid

[@SuperWubDub]

​@@joshuadavis5899 ask yourself this, how was Minnesota able to obliterate denver at home with no gobert? Without gobert on the floor they looked like the best team in the NBA. Swarming on defense and raining hellfire on offense. Imo that lineup full of 2 way players is far more effective than the spacing black hole that is gobert

[@ybwkel5836]

@@joshuadavis5899no impact, for every time Rudy scored he turned the ball over twice before that

[@Jonathan-A.C.]

@@SuperWubDub That was also when Jamal was injured, to be fair here + Conley playing I agree with your overall message tho

[@athanjourdan9312]

@@joshuadavis5899 i dont mean to blame him every player has their weaknesses im more so just pointing out that the "liability" in the playoffs on defense is a myth but he actually is an offensive liability

[@presley.25]

minnisota needa limit gobert

[@dxbgaming4813]

I'd rather try giving the ball to Gobert everytime as this point.

[@jimbobfisher8904]

2:55 this dude clearly purposefully hit the ball back to nuggets.

[@shouryarajput5633]

At least Lakers games against Denver were competitive and not blowouts

[@veerchasm1]

If the Wolves hope to get to game 7 they need to sit Gobert down and play small. Go Nuggets!

[@steveno4871]

The more egregious case offensively is that the limited offensive gobert somehow managed to draw two defenders on to him without the ball and the driver elects not to pass to the open corner three.

[@michaelahurt]

Yeah Minnesota just doesn't have enough playmaking to punish teams for putting two on Ant. But that's what you get when you play two bigs and McDaniels.

[@ybwkel5836]

@@michaelahurtMcDaniels as good as he is defensively his lack of anything to do with offense is really hurting the wolves as well

[@jimbobfisher8904]

Gobert and kat are throwing the series on purpose it’s pretty obvious.

[@dimelo58]

I feel like if gobert has a guard on him you should try and feed him in the paint if you’re not gonna feed him you might as well take him out because joker is unstoppable anyway put a shooter out there instead.

[@Pswayze23]

So not only is gobert useless on offense, he actively hurts the offense.

[@MotuLogan]

What about how the Wolves best game in the series was when Gobert wasn't even there.

[@keir.]

if rudy had like luka type player in his side i think he can average 15 to 20points every night.

[@yormeaceko7101]

He's not good bro. While Mitchell doesn't play defense, Mobley and Allen average 15+ pts playing with him.

[@para97v]

thats why i said best teammate for luka is gobert. Said it like 4 years ago.

[@husseinmurray7797]

Some of yall don’t realize how legitimately awful his hands are. He’s arguably one of the worst starting bigs on the offensive end in the latest decade

[@Freesilver92]

Luka needs people who can vertically space. It’s crazy to say but Rudy can’t do that. He can’t jump either.

[@whoisabdalle8295]

He just not good offensively. Thats why dmitch never passed the ball to him

[@sekizo1728]

gobert is that 2k center player who takes space in the paint and cant dominate the boards or finish

[@kawaihui3922]

why on one pass to him because hes useless

[@elliotturbina7739]

1st

[@poly_g6068]

Wembanyama should've won DPOY.

[@welder9163]

I already quit watching baseball and football. Basketball is next after Steph retires!! REFEREES RUINED IT!!!!!!!!!

[@yormeaceko7101]

Rudy is basically a worse Zaza Pachulia with a lanky build