Chris Finch:“It’s a joke that he wasn’t a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year. I thought it was incredibly disrespectful. It’s just laughable and small minded and petty all the crap that people decide to give Rudy”
He has a point. Gobert’s game is not sexy so it’s massively underappreciated
Finch is being the lightning rod on his players’ behalf when complaining for fouls and awards. Does it come off as tone-deaf or even pathetic at times? Admittedly yes but it gets continued buy-in from his players so he’s willing to take on that burden
I don’t think it really matters what anyone thinks of it except his players, and his players clearly love him
> it’s massively underappreciated
He has 4 DPOY awards lmao, and he shouldnt have even won the last one over Victor. Maybe with the hot take pundits he’s underappreciated, but ball knowers understand
Rudy is still the best non Wemby defender in the league IMO, but honestly does him being 4th instead of 2nd changes anything ? Like I understand clapping back at the, stupid, idea that he’s overrated, and as Pistons fan I can tell you that yeah I love Ausar but no Ausar is not as impactful as Rudy even per minute, but it’s not a big deal especially during a great playoffs series
He’s just hyping up his player
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Yeah voters are more serious with their first place votes than their 2nd place votes.
Which also resulted one year Draymond had the most 1st place votes by a decent margin; yet he ended up losing because of a lack of 2nd place votes.
Like him or hate him it was a weird dpoy race that year
Not just the awards finishing, its the unrestrained hate that Rudy gets from high profile ex player pundits thats ignorant and over the top.
Oh that part you’re right, the dude is one of the 10 (and that’s conservative) defenders of all time and should be a hall of famer
Yeah it’s a bit a lot more than just the awards. It’s the constant dumb talk from media ….even when they said they have to give him props in the post game tonight it started with “I know we always joke about Rudy”
The fact that he actually almost gets more criticism for his defense then for his offense is actual insanity that I will never understand lol, like I’d be fine if someone wanted to argue that his offense is so bad that he’s actually a problem in the playoffs, I wouldn’t agree but I would at least get the argument.
But no Luka makes a step back over him and suddenly he’s a fraud lol
Steph literally stepped back and nailed a 3 on Wemby for Olympic gold and it became one of the most iconic pictures for Team USA basketball.
Nobody is shitting on Wemby.
What’s hilarious is Luka (or Steph or anyone like you said) can make those shots on their primary defenders and nobody will say anything, i’m sure Luka has made like 20 step back 3’s over Lu Dort over the years, I’m sure Steph made like 80 self created 3’s on Andre Roberson or Danny Green, but those guys are never called frauds lol
Which has to do with him being very young and also very capable on the offensive end. If wemby didn’t have any offensive game and clumsy hands as Gobert has from time to time we would get the same shit as him after dominating on the defensive end for years. This league hates pure defenders or at least falls out of love with them very quickly unless they are extremely likeable/charismatic personality wise.
I think it’s more that he’s just deeply disrespected by the media and his peers
Idk man. Wouldn’t undersell Ausar. TIL he’s above Rudy in DEPM and is #2 behind Wemby. Apples and Oranges imo. Certainly don’t think it’s fair to say him being third is a joke.
I think Ausar has been the best perimeter defender in the league this season, I just think that a center is just by definition more important defensively and that Ausar just isn’t playing enough minutes
Minutes thing is fair.
No, it doesn’t really change anything, but that’s not unique to this situation either.
We just spent weeks talking about where Luka should be in the MVP race, even though most people understand the actual award will almost definitely go to SGA.
Luka should have been. He averaged 37 in March and dropped in mvp race that’s laughable
He has fallen off a bit from his peak, Chet and Ausar definitely better
I would still put Chet over him, but with Chet being on the weaker side and able to be pushed around more I understand your opinion.
I don’t believe the OKC defense changes much with Chet in or out. Mn is radically different without Rudy.
OKC goes from the best drtg in the league to 12th without Chet. The most insane thing about that number to me is how much bigger Rudy’s impact is (3rd best to 3rd to last).
Yeah tht’s the tie breaker for me, they are really close overall, but the fact that Gobert can guard in the post is the difference
I’m okay with him being 4th. DPOY has always been an award to best defenders on top defensive teams. Gobert was elite but Wolves finished only 8th on defense. Wemby obviously #1 anchoring 3rd best defense. Chet should be #2 because he is anchoring the best defense. Ausar is by far the best non-C defender in the league and playing for #2 best defense and number 1 seed.
Nah, he should have been 3rd.
Ausar is great, but he doesn’t sniff Rudy’s impact. I get it feels weird to have rim protecting centers 1-3, but there’s no way you can tell me Rudy’s impact doesn’t dwarf Ausar’s.
Without Rudy, the Wolves are near the absolute bottom of the league defensively. I’d personally still contend he’s better than Chet, but I also won’t quibble considering how fucking insane OKC’s defense is.
Giving all the slots to rim protectors seems unfun, but its just the most impactful defensive archetype.
It’s like NFL MVP always going to QBs.
QBs are by default more valuable than any other position just as rim protectors are much more valuable than perimeter defenders.
Meanwhile NFL DPOY should almost always be an Edge Rusher. Even when there’s a crazy DB or LB season it’s rare they’re actually more impactful than the best pass rusher
Yeah i agree wholeheartedly.
Rudy’s been the benefactor of this too such as 2024 when he was arguably a worse defender than Wemby but led Minesotta’s 1st ranked DRTG so he won the award.
Spurs were 21st defense in 2024. I think last 15 DPOYs were on 8th best defense and above.
Gobert lost in 2022 because Utah was just 10th, and Boston had the best defense, so Smart got it. It’s all about advanced stats.
Boston had the best defense, so Smart got it.
Real ones know that DPOY belonged to the Time Lord but he just missed too much time
Spurs defense with Wemby on the court was the best defense in 2024
I see the stats from bkref, with Wemby on Spurs had 114 D rating which would be 8th best defense. Am I wrong?
Anyway, according to the history of this award, you are not winning it if your team does not have top-8 defense. In ~90% of cases it was top-5.
It’s all about advanced stats.
Nah if it’s advanced stats, Rudy would have 8 DPOYs. For nearly a decade until Wemby came along nobody was close to him in advanced individual defensive stats. It’s an individual award that is heavily dependent on the team stats.
I don’t think Wemby was better than Rudy in 2024 yet.
This year definitely, but I think the gap is smaller than people like to hyperbolize.
Yeah but I wish he was a finalist. Not expecting him to win, but at least be nominated. He was arguably better than his 23-24 DPOY year at times but people have to watch every Wolves game to see that
Off Topic but I hope Rudy shoots a Three in this Series just one time. So we can point out that we have Wemby at Home lol
I just want him to make one in his career. Just one. Please let it happen French Jesus.
I know Chet is an amazing defender in his own right but it’s insane that he’s back-lining behind Dort, Caruso, Wallace, SGA and JDub
Ant and McDaniels are a damn good pair but man that’s a gap in defensive help
And that’s why one is maybe the best defense this century and the other finished 8th this season.
Both incredibly impactful…
It’s insane that Gobert won DPOYs while playing with Conley, Mitchell, Ingles and Bogdanovic
Those 4 could quadruple team someone and it wouldn’t be as effective as an OKC double team
Special defender those final years in Utah and still very bananas now
Ant isn’t even good right now.
In the regular season he plays lazy and coasts.
In the playoffs he’s playing injured. He was atrocious in game 1 and passable but still far from lockdown today.
Ant (when healthy) is a highlight reel defender in so far as he can get insane blocks and steals and lock down an elite player in one on one on any given play but doesn’t expend a lot of energy to do so consistently because he’s asked to carry so much of the load offensively.
He’s also prone to focus lapses and sagging off shooters especially in the regular season which he absolutely could and should fix.
Forgot about all them. Chet literally has spent more than half of all his minutes with another elite tier defensive big in Isaiah, who has also started all the games he’s played in. It’s the modern day defensive twin towers unit.
They’re both just as impactful as each other, that’s how great those two are and yet Wemby is just as impactful compared to both those guys ON are.
Chet and Hartenstein have played 700+ minutes together this season, 1300 without Isaiah. Both ON: DefRtg - 103.62, Opp 2pFG% - 47.93%
Wemby and Kornet have spent 113 minutes together.. His next tallest guy Wemby has significant minutes and/or started with is Champy or Barnes.
Wemby ON: DefRtg - 106.18 Opp 2pFG% - 47.87%
Idk how Isaiah just get overlooked by literally everyone so much, that lineup is devastating for teams together and then add all that ball pressure with those wings and POA defenders. It’s crazy. Yes Chet metrics are great when Hartenstein is out but those possessions are inherently easier with the units being played and energy conserved because of time with Hartenstein.
You have no idea what would happen, they played once this season
We might in a few weeks…
Recency bias is crazy. People shit on Rudy all year and come out of the woodwork now
OK calm down
cope, post less. Touch grass.
True, Wemby will put a 30 pts bomb on it
hes right. wemby didnt put up any meaningful stats tonight
All I’ll say is that Wemby isn’t doing what Rudy did tonight he barely even holds Jokic under 40
Wemby played against Jokic ONCE this season and was whistled for two weak fouls in the first two minutes of the game and had to play conservatively on defense for most of the game. he finished with three fouls. he also had 34/18/7 with 5 blocks.
do you see Gobert doing that lol
Man be fr. Wemby can’t do what Rudy did because he isn’t as dense and thick as Rudy.
No need to get in your feelings. Jokic has done well against Wemby in almost every matchup.
Who cares about offensive stats when discussing defense?
Wemby can’t do what Rudy did because he isn’t as dense and thick as Rudy.
i’m not gonna argue with you there. if the Spurs match against the Nuggets in the second round, Mitch is gonna put Keldon/Carter Bryant on Jokic and use Wemby as a help defender.
are 18 rebounds and 5 blocks supposed to be considered offensive stats? and Rudy is completely useless on one end of the floor. it absolutely matters if you want to compare the two players. Wemby would completely play Rudy off the floor in a series.
No we aren’t comparing Wemby and Rudy as players. We are comparing their defensive capabilities and performances on Jokic.
Tell me with a straight face that Wemby was better defensively on Jokic than Rudy was tn?
You can’t bc he wasn’t.
And it just comes down to Rudy being really sturdy and thick and Wemby not being as strong. That might change in the future.
As for putting a wing on him, I am surprised they didn’t run both Kornet and Wemby
where was this praise for Gobert’s defense last game? this recency bias is insane lol. Wolves won by 5 points and if they lost people would be talking about how Gobert is useless on one end of the floor and kept falling for Jokic’s foul baiting
Jokic shot 15 free throws that game and Wemby didn’t foul him once. you do the math.
I am surprised they didn’t run both Kornet and Wemby
Kornet was playing injured that game and why would we put two bigs on the floor against a team with the best passing center in the league
He absolutely got praise last game. Especially early. They just lost by double digits so it’s less of a story.
I mean we have eyes and google man. Did Wemby defend Jok better than Rudy? Yes or no?
Also, Wemby fouled him 2 times for 4 FTs…
OKC primarily play double big against DEN and it’s worked for them so far. Would be a very similar dynamic as Kornet can be a screener DHO guy with an elite roamer
https://youtu.be/Zjb_Og7FnHk?si=DmxUKsMEcKTUsQce
I’m pretty sure Wemby is a putrid perimeter defender and Rudy is statistically a very sound one even though he looks like a lost deer.
Wemby 1 because he shifts the offense more than anyone.
Wembanyama isnt even versatile or switchable. He plays drop almost exclusively and is one of the worst centers defending the perimeter.
mfs really be lying with a straight face
Wemby is one of the most switchable bigs in the league are you high
I would’ve had him top 3 but fussing over 4th vs 3rd place is so whatever
It’s nice to see a coach back up his guy and shout him out though.
Rudy also had an incredible defensive season but sadly no one knows about it because the rest of the Wolves didn’t do a great job. We were 28th in defense when he’s off the floor and 2nd when he’s on. He was even better than his 23-24 DPOY year at times
Wemby Rudy Chet
Don’t forget Podz
Preach Finch
He right. People talk about Rudy like he’s a bum
Gobert has to be nicer to the media because they are petty af. Also voter fatigue since he has won DPOY so many times already.
Is he ever not nice to the media? I swear the man is always getting slandered
I dunno. But if the award was solely about basketball he would certainly be top 3
I’m not a fan of the man himself, but I hate even more how Rudy Gobert is mocked by the NBA community especially by his peers. I’ve followed him since his debut in the French league and with the national team, So I’m well aware of his limitations but, I also know how valuable he is and I despise the sheer amount of hate he receives. He’s no Wemby, for sure, but he’s certainly not a bum.
I think he just lost a lot of respect over the Covid stuff. People may have forgotten it now, but that’s where I started to notice it.
ShaqFu334 joins the chat
Petition to ban “disrespectful” from sports
Always love to see a coach back up his players <3
Rudy was incredible on defense this year but sadly no one knew about it because Wolves were pretty shit without him (28th defense when he’s off, 2nd when he’s on). I thought he was even better than his 23-24 DPOY year at times but people don’t know how good he was.
He isn’t wrong.
They gave pity gave it to Rudy last year lol
I cant let Rudy have more DPOY than my man Ben Wallace
Omg, this guy. The playoffs just started and he’s whining about everything.
I do wonder if some of the fire he played with was sparked by being pissed off he wasnt a finalist
But the vote was unanimous. So he’s upset Rudy didn’t make the list only to get zero votes, just like he already got not making the list? What’s his point?? I get it if some of the other guys got some votes, but this year it was a 1:1 list.
Not bitching about refing today?
He’s sticking up for his guy and earns credit with the locker room? Someone who has been ridiculed his whole career and someone who is a first ballot HOFer
lol did this sub forget that he’s an antivaxer and a friend of known sex trafficker Andrew Tate just because he played well?
Nobody tell this guy about Kyrie
That’s a new one. What makes you think they’re friends?
A lot of professional athletes are not good people or at the least not good role models
While I agree both those things suck, we’re talking about his defense lmao
Exactly. If you start to dig deep about most of these guys political, gender, social, etc views then you’re going to find skeletons in a lot of guys closets.
We’re basketball fans, we’re here to discuss sports.
And you’re likely a Kyrie fan, you know how many things we could list about him?
Even in he wins he finds a way to complain lol