The Rudy Gobert Problem… 

People always talk about him getting dunked on but thats because he actually puts effort into contesting it

kenny just tryna show off his ball knowledge he been learning

Rudy's defence is predicated on, yes, his ability but also his complete effort and the confidence his team has in him to defend always. You don't see guys get cooked like Rudy on the perimeter because they dont even try like he does and their teams don't trust them on the perimeter like they trust Rudy, nevermind the confidence they have in Rudy's paint defense.

A video on Anthony Davis specifically the 2023 playoffs with the Grizzlies series and maybe the Warriors series would be great. That was some of the most magnificent defense I’ve ever seen

In short imo, Rim protection: A+ Traditional P&R coverage: B Up to the level + Ice + Blitz Recovery: C- Switchability: D In conclusion: A good defender but fairly one-dimensional, together with his clumsiness on the offensive end, leading to him susceptible of being played off the floor at high stake moments.

Alluding to the point u made at 6:56, if you really want to show/see Rudy's prowess on defense you should also watch minutes where he DOESN'T play to see how worse the wolves become on d and the kind of shots they give up at the rim

That Terrence Mann game was the worst loss in Jazz history. That's from someone who's been watching the Jazz since '88. No heart, no pride, no effort. Jerry Sloan would have kicked Donovan Mitchell's ass. Painful.

I feel bad for him because he's basically the best deterrent ever but that means you literally don't really see his impact because if you did then he wasn't deterring so casual fans just hate his existence because of how he should be evaluated because he's literally the worst eye-test player you could watch besides like josh smith anywhere behind a three point line... and he's french and that can't help

Edge shirt goes hard

Rudy went from over hated to underrated. He’s an all time great at what he does. And that’s protecting the rim and playing help defense. The TWolves were great defensively and that was in large part due to Rudy. Both for what he does on the court and apparently he’s essentially the defensive coordinator.

bro was benched and france went to the final at the olympic games

People hate him because he does the “dirty work” in the NBA. He also doesn’t look flashy on offense which makes old heads look away from him/everyone else. Regardless, he’s one of the best rim protectors/anchor in our generation.

Yes but it’s fun to laugh at him

Rudy so over Hated

1:08 I mean Draymond Green did have a lot hands-on experience against Rudy

Can we get one with this same concept but with Wembanyama next would love to see the comparison

AD having 0 DPOYs is criminal

0:21 idk LeBron has four rings and some people still refuse to call him a winner.

This is exactly the type of content I love in the offseason. Really awesome stuff Kenny!

game theory is about taking away what your opponent likes to do most. i don't think any player in the league is perfect for every scenario. the main value of having a rim protector is that it increases the amount of shots outside the paint, and gives you some help in guessing what you can give up.

All jokes aside Haslem has a real point. Limiting Rudy’s minutes in playoff basketball has proven itself to be a necessity. Im there is a real argument to be made that if Finchy pulled Rudy on that final play Luka will probably still make that shot cuz he is Luka but with a different defender it would’ve been in the immortal words of the GOAT “a bad shot” instead of the baby reindeer cook session we got

I think the main issue of Rudy Gobert’s perimeter vs rim defense is that the latter is so great and anchors the defense so heavily, that the structure, patterns, and execution of any defense Gobert is on gravitates around that rim protection. Meaning that whenever Gobert has to guard the perimeter, even though he can do it and very well, it breaks down the rest of the team’s defense since nobody else is prepared or capable of picking up that slack or adjusting quickly enough. And that weakness is much harder to exploit without a gameplan in place to bring it out, and the top level talent to force Gobert to come out to the perimeter. Both of which the playoffs will bring out much more often than the regular season.

Rudy is a great defender not 4 x DPOY good i prefer AD all day to him but his problem is his offensive pairing with scoring guards. Rudy and Ant doesn’t work bc Ant isn’t a great passer same with D Mitchell, u can have a lob threat vertical spacing big who can’t score the ball, but they need to paired with a great passer, like a cp3 or a luka doncic that way there weaknesses is minimed and u can win with them.

Unreal Rudy love

i wanted to cry watching that luka step back live. hurt so much

I have a deep appreciation for the fact that even with as much basketball content you create, you are doing more to schematically understand the game.

The classic edge shirt goes crazy

great vid. had to dip before the mavs game point of the video. can’t relive that this soon.

These type of vids are fire!

All valid points but the dpoy is a regular season award, and the dude was the anchor of a crazy defense, imo this was his last year still better than wemby Draymond and perk and them just wanna pick on the dude everybody picks on to feel better abt themselves, its really a case of bullying more than anything😂

Only thing he can do in a pick and roll is drop. He’s either stopping a lob or stopping an attempt at the basket. You can’t switch on screens with him on the floor so players like Brunson, Luka, or shai pull up for a middy while he’s dropping to the basket. He’s also not good enough on the perimeter to guard skilled bigs, which aren’t rare anymore. His defense is outdated. He’s a good shot blocker and good at playing drop coverage but he’s got some slow ass feet

12:20 this was one of the first playoff games I ever watched, or at least remember watching, being new to actually watching basketball, and as a Jazz fan, I was so mad, and thinking back to it now it just hurts

“Look at that boy run “ 😂

How have you still not hit a million subscribers? I came back to watch you after a while

Shoutout to that Edge shirt 💪🏿💪🏿💪🏿💪🏿

Do a vid on cam thomas, he has the keys to the franchise right now. Itll be cool to see whether those 40 point gameS were flukes or he can truly be a star

Was blessed enough to see Lukas shot in person at the game, unfortunately I’m a wolves fan😭

rudy gobert is a great defender but he doesnt have the versatility that would be needed for wins in the playoffs (to me). But i also think his ipact is predicated off the team that surrounds him and the type of defenders that he has to back him up, and that can also affect the way he has to play (so the defense that we see)

It really pissed me off when people compared wemby to him citing stocks. Like bruh the spurs were 22nd in defensive rating. idgaf if you have 17 stocks, if your team is 22nd in defense, you're not that good of a rim protector. And I understand the t-wolves have great personelle, but he unlocked that in them. They can all be fierce on the perimeter because they know they have him.

Nah 4 dpoys means ur a great defender no matter what

Can you go back and rewatch washed players best season? Like cp3, russ, harden, kawhi, and etc

That edge shit is fire

Kenny changed the title 👀

Kenny knew what he was doing with the title wearing a shirt that says edge

Wait, wait, wait, 0:52 Kendrick Perkins seriously has a vote for awards??? Dude has the worst takes ever!

The vibe in here is everything!

Graph is also Jakob Poeltl prop lol goddamn

Please keep doing this “investigation” style videos they’re very entertaining

This was the most fun I’ve had watching a Kenny vid

these are the videos i subbed for

this was a really enjoyable video format!

People say Rudy Gobert is an overrated defender because they’re talking about him guarding on the perimeter. Rudy Gobert doesn’t guard on the perimeter. Rudy Gobert is an elite rim-protector. If you go to the rim on Rudy Gobert, you’re not scoring. Can you make the argument that a DPOTY should be able to guard the rim AND the perimeter? Sure, but most DPOTY are centers who guard the paint.

Is that an Edge shirt? Like the Rated R Superstar? 🙌

it feels good to know my wolves were your most watched team last year. plus it’s part xenophobia, part rudy’s controversies, him being misunderstood as a defender(casual watchers), and people don’t like to hype up a player who averages 13 ppg

kenny i was just watching a ttw rudy rant this is great

My question about Rudy has always been this; is his defence good enough to make up for the fact that you basically play 4 on 5 on offence, because his game is so limited? And in the Playoffs so far, the answer is no.

Such a great video Kenny. You are incredible at what you do.

Before i watch, i think his impact solely from the rim is enough to put him as a top 3 lock in defensive impact every season. It’s just that his perimeter defense can be exposed and in doing so, taking him away from the rim is a disadvantage even if a guy like luka doesn’t score on gobert directly.

I literally just cast that game 6 out of my mind as a Jazz fan. It was the only way to keep going. That game broke me and I have never been the same😭

It's the offensive shit that's really limiting for Gobert. The reason he got benched in the Olympics is because France desperately needed offense and Rudy wasn't providing any. Not that he was struggling on defense. Plus France felt they had enough defensive weapons to where they felt they could still manage with Rudy on the bench.

Loving these videos as always kenny keep doing your thing brother❤

I am loving these vid ideas by kenny it's so new and fun to watch

20:44 man look at the effort from Ant, it's basically a 2 on 3 break so the defence has numbers and he could have easily picked up Hardy but he just backpedals and then steps out of the way without putting any pressure on the ball or protecting the rim. Doesn't box out anyone, just a lazy/Hardenesque play.

As a wolves fan he’s the best defender in basketball. No Rudy means no defense. That dude makes KAT look good defensively and he allows our perimeter guys in Naw, Conley, Ant, and Jaden to be aggressive and take chances because when he’s out there he’s a one man wrecking crew. People love to show the low lights of him getting cooked on the perimeter but I can show you multiple instances where he shuts down some of the best perimeter players in the league. There’s a reason why they didn’t feel the need to switch when he was on Luka, it’s because he’s that good. Luka hit the shot and maybe lost him but it was still a solid contest, I can’t hate on the man that turned our defense around and helps everybody else on the court play their style of defense. Not to mention he hit one of the most iconic shots in wolves history with that 17ft fade away on Jokic to help us win that game 7 against Denver!🤣

I feel like his film in the jazz vs rockets series needs to be looked at because watching that I felt like james harden and clint capela were unstoppable

I think I’d still take A-B tier defensive versatility over A+ rim defending and c-d tier everything else. I think he’s a bad switcher and a sub-par perimeter defender, he has to stay low on the post to be effective. teams like the thunder and the Celtics will take advantage of that and he’ll get absolutely dismantled like he does every year in the playoffs when teams get a chance to fully scheme around his inefficiencies.

Would love to see a video about your top5 or whatever favourite roll players both ever and active

The issue with Rudy is the same as we have a lot in the NFL, everything is so system focused, so when he's doing well and makes their system work it doesn't feel like he's doing anything exciting.

Loved it. Great video Can you do one on an mvp season??

I didn’t expect to come from work and relive my trauma as a jazz fan😂😂

The problem with Gobert is AD, Draymond and Bam. Because Now we have seen bigs who can protect the paint and then run out to the 3 point line. Or who can switch on to the others teams best perimeter player and consistently stay in front of him . The eye test just says they look like better defenders.

Kenny you should import a college team into 2k and rebuild from an expansion draft. You could spin a wheel for a random team or just go with you're team of choice.

Kenny more like Henny

My problem with Rudy isn’t that he’s a poor defender, but the fact that his defense isn’t good enough to make up for his lack of offense. If you replaced gobert with Naz Reid, who’s worse on defense but miles better on offense, I see the timberwolves getting more buckets. Rudy Gobert clogs the paint on offense, drawing a defender into the paint with him and making it so that his teammates can only take perimeter shots. Couple that with the fact that he’s got hands of butter and he’s an offensive liability.

Help defense and paint deterrence is important, but so is on ball defense.

Wemby's individual numbers were comparable if not better. Rudy benefitted from his team's collective defense as well as team success. I wonder what the percentage charts of shots deterred would look like this year.

Love the videos where you watch film, it my favorite part of your content.

sending this to the gc thank u kenny

“I just made a highlight block but they still scored” great quote summing up how overrated blocks as a defensive metric are. And rim protection for that matter when it comes to determining individual defense given Dpoy is an individual award

Most hated player for no reason

That was not a dpoy play brother…. 23:41 he literally just put his hands up and Luka kicked out and it got stolen….what did Rudy do there that was so special and better than defensively than anyone else in the league??? Not a damn thing

Based on the examples of Rudy vs Mavs the blame was on the coaching staff because their defensive scheme was bad they needed Kat to be on PJ or a bad shooter then help on the roller

Rudy is one of the greatest rim protectors relative to his era. The issue is that he's just a rim protector. His hedge defense is not great due to his slow feet, and he's a liability when switching. In an era where switch defense and hedge defense are required, it's really impressive that his teams all do well defensively despite being limited to drop coverage.

Can we talk about how he’s in the top 0.3 percent of fans for the wolves and how he didn’t have the bulls up in the top 5, sad times for the bulls 😭

NBA players are biased for players who “have a bag” and generally don’t respect players who look clumsy or awkward on the court even if they’re effective. That’s why players like Kyrie and Kobe (even though they’re great players) are usually overrated by other players. He also doesn’t help himself with some of his antics and in some playoff situations against a 5 out offense you can’t play him but he’s winning these awards for a reason and deserves respect.

you know what the most frustrating thing about the jazz clippers game? not a single jazz perimeter player knew how to cover the perimeter. they were just bug trapped on their man, and absolutely no one rotated. Ive never seen a more lazy effort

The hard part of evaluating defense is that most defensive decisions, especially in the playoffs, are largely influenced by coaching. Even below average defenders can look good if the coaches strategize correctly. This is why KAT looked really good defending Jokic and really bad against everyone else.

Exactly my point dude, you can’t be a dpoy if your only job is to sit under the basket and look scary??? Where are the crazy rebound numbers & blocks if all you’re gonna do is sit in the paint??? He’s a HORRIBLE defender on the perimeter so ik for a fact that doesn’t go towards his defensive prowess…..it’s just meat riding atp

was at this game ( im a clippers fan). most insane game ive ever been to. Terance Mann is my king.

Kenny really got some of the best analysis of the game we have out here

No is the answer to that title

What kind of DPOY has to come off the other teams best offensive player for his team to have success the dude is buns

But people think that a 7'2" 260 player have to move in isolation against a PG like a wing and thats moronic. Big man are slow in comparison when they are over 6'11", thats the reality. You cant expect them run with guards

Winning a championship a player like Brook Lopez or Myles Turner is probably more important/ useful when trying to make a run

Rudy is a good defender one of the best shot blockers of the league but with just how many versatile and also great defenders in the league that can do more on the defensive side than gobert is the reasons he is hated

21:33 u showed the same place twice kenny😂

i think the only reason why people don't think rudy is a good defender is bias. hes one of if not the most hated player in the league, and on top of that there is nothing about his game that is flashy enough to catch the eye of an nba viewer.

I think his defense shouldn’t be questioned, it’s his offence that is a very heavy liability in todays game you gotta be able to score efficiently

Mitch did that man filthy wit that in n out

Shot deterrence is the word that describes Rudy's defense in my opinion. He's not gonna put up 5 block games constantly like a Wemby, Chet or AD. He relies on his length and positioning. If I can remember I think he said that tries to stay down, and let his reach and positioning work for him as much as he possible so that he can be in position to get the rebound. He's got crazy dimensions so it makes sense, but think this is what also why players don't fear him defensively. Along side him being a big weak guarding up at the 3 point line ( he can sometimes but it's normally splash plays. Players may scurry from him when they see him, but they will come back to try him. One thing I do like about Rudy is that I do like that spin recovery he does when he has to close out at the 3pt line. Sometimes he catch people with that.