God Squad wrote:cupcakesnake wrote:God Squad wrote:Gobert is not DPOY, that much I know.
He wouldn't have my vote either currently, but can you explain why of all the guys on this list.... he's the one you feel doesn't belong?
Gobert has been devastating opponent offenses all season. Our defense has problems (cough* Randle), but despite that, we have rebuilt a top 6 defense that keeps getting better, and our only adjustments have been asking Rudy to do more.
Rudy has put on several defensive masterclasses this season. He'll completely blow up the other teams plays over and over again in a way that's evident to everyone watching the game.
On top of that, all the defensive metrics once again have him as arguably the best defensive player in the league.
Have you been watching him play or is this one of those "i don't like Gobert personally" type of takes.
Both. I've watched both Raptor games. Yes, Randle sucks, but Rudy clogs the paint without adding passing or spacing the floor. He has some of the worst hands (catching the ball) I've seen since Kwame. If I had to pick an early DPOY pick it'd be Dyson Daniels. His impact is felt during games against guards/best perimeter players.
I don't care for Gobert for multiple reasons, but IMO this isn't the year for him to be in the running for DPOY.
So your reasons for him not being in the running for Defensive player of the year is... you don't like his offense?
Both Raptors games.
So, game 1 was a pretty standard Rudy Gobert defensive domination. Completely shut down the paint in the first quarter, preventing attempts, blowing up pick & rolls, and just allowing the Raptors to do nothing on offense. Raps climb back into the game by abusing out Randle/Naz minutes (huge trend early in the season), but then we bring out Rudy to start the second half and quickly go back to a 20-point lead. Game is mostly over, but Raps use a Scottie + bench to beat up our bench lineup just enough we have to bring the starters back in to finish the game.
Game 2, I'll give you... kind of the low point of our season (so far, haha). We tried to change our defensive scheme in practice before that game, asking Rudy to play higher on screens to give us more ball pressure, and seeing if we could get Randle to become more engaged on the backline. Randle... missed literally dozens of rotations that game, resulting in that little fight between him and Rudy and Ant at the end and Gobert acted like a grumpy baby, as he is prone to do sometimes.
Gobert is in the running every year until his wheels fall off. You don't have to like it. It's just a fact of life that he's going to be discussed as one of the biggest defensive problem makers in basketball because that's what it is.
I'm not campaigning for him, or really rooting for him to win it, but comments like yours I think require a reality check or just a reminder. Rudy is going to be on DPOY ballots because he's still just that good. Every single game, he's visibly making life miserable of opponent offenses like almost no one else in the league. I think the time of Wemby has come though. It's just hard to deny someone that tall, and that mobile. Dyson is super high on my ballot. I also think OG Anunoby could make some noise if the Knicks defense continues to improve.
