Tag: Rudy Gobert

Kendrick Perkins calls voting for Rudy Gobert as the Defensive Player of the Year his ‘biggest regret’

Kendrick Perkins is mad because he made a good decision. You hate to see it.

It’s been pretty trendy to trash Rudy Gobert these days. Everybody is doing it.

Fans were going in on Gobert for getting cooked by Nikola Jokic in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. Draymond Green has been taking shots at Gobert for as long as he’s been on the Inside the NBA show during these playoffs. It’s been bad. Really bad. The dude can’t catch a break.

Now, Kendrick Perkins and ESPN are jumping in on the joke, too.

Perkins called voting for Rudy Gobert as the Defensive Player of the Year has been the “biggest regret” of his post-NBA media career so far.

“Me voting this season for Rudy Gobert is an embarrassment for me. He’s the first player that we see every single time in the postseason that becomes a defensive liability. Don’t come give me these analytics, don’t come give me these plus-minus stats…When I look at Rudy, he has tarnished the Defensive Player of the Year award.”

We can add Kendrick Perkins to the gaggle of media talking heads who have it out for Gobert.

For Perkins to say voting for him is the biggest regret of his media career is wild. You’d think it’d be that time that he fell for an Andre Iguodala troll or that time he quoted a report live on air from *checks notes* Ballsack Sports. Public shame doesn’t hit quite the same way it used to these days.

What Perkins is saying here about Gobert is ridiculous. He says he doesn’t want the advanced stats or the analytics or whatever, so I won’t. I guess bringing facts to the table is frowned upon. But, hey, if we want to just go off of logic and vibes, we can do that, too.

Perkins is basically chastising Gobert for not being able Jokic and Luka Doncic without help. Keep in mind that one of those players just won a third MVP award in four years and the other was the runner-up. I’m pretty sure you can line up whoever against them in single coverage and it probably won’t end well. But what do I know?

Because of that, I guess, he can’t be Defensive Player of the Year. If we’re going by that criteria, we should probably abolish the award and save everyone the trouble because no one would be worthy.

If Perk wants to surrender his vote for actually making a sound decision? More power to him. Maybe somebody with a bit more sense about all this can take his place.

Draymond Green reacts to Luka Doncic’s game-winner vs. Timberwolves in Game 2

Draymond Green chimed in on Instagram after Luka Doncic’s clutch game-winner against the Timberwolves in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.

After a fiery fourth-quarter appearance in Game 1 sealed the Dallas Mavericks’ win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Luka Doncic doubled down with another thrilling performance in Game 2.

After trailing by 18 in the second quarter, Doncic fueled the Mavs’ comeback in the second half. Doncic notched 32 points on 10-of-23 shooting from the field with five made 3-pointers. Doncic finished with a triple-double with 13 assists and 10 boards in Game 2.

Doncic wrapped up his performance with a game-winning shot over the Defensive Player of the Year. As the clock ticked down, Doncic danced around Rudy Gobert before shaking free for a deep 3-pointer over the big Frenchman. Following his go-ahead 3 with three seconds remaining, Doncic barked at Gobert down the floor as the Target Center went quiet.

Following Doncic’s shot to give the Mavs a commanding 2-0 lead over the Timberwolves, Draymond Green chimed in on Instagram with a reaction. Green called out the look on Jaden McDaniels’ face before Doncic pulled up for his 3-pointer over Gobert.

Via @NBCSWarriors on X:

https://x.com/NBCSWarriors/status/1794405388780962236

With the Mavericks already holding a 2-0 lead over the Timberwolves, the Western Conference finals shift to Dallas for two games starting on Sunday at 5 p.m. PT.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and X! 

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Luka Doncic hilariously denies NSFW comment after hitting Game 2 winner over Rudy Gobert: I was speaking Slovenian

Luka isn’t revealing what he shouted at Rudy Gobert after his epic shot

Luka Doncic might as well have told NBA lip-readers to get ready to learn Slovenian.

Fans were certain they caught the Dallas Mavericks superstar using a NSFW, but completely earned phrase after hitting a go-ahead step-back three over reigning Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert on Friday night to give his team a 2-0 series lead in the Western Conference Finals.

It sure looked like Doncic said “he can’t [expletive] guard me” after putting Dallas up 109-108 with three seconds left in the fourth quarter, but he slyly told reporters afterwards he was just shouting in his native Slovenian.

Take a look:

Doncic’s words in the press conference certainly send a much different message than his smile and shrug while saying them.

If there are any lip-readers who also speak Slovenian, it’s time to reach out to an NBA fan and confirm or deny what Doncic would like us all to believe.

Draymond Green blasts Timberwolves following Game 5 loss vs. Nuggets

Draymond Green didn’t hold back after the Timberwolves dropped Game 5 to the Nuggets.

After winning the opening two games on the road against the defending champions, the Minnesota Timberwolves have dropped three straight games to the Denver Nuggets, including Game 5 in rough fashion on Tuesday night.

Reigning Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic dominated, scoring 40 points on 15-of-22 shooting from the field to go along with 13 assists, seven rebounds, two steals and a block in 41 minutes. He did this while matching up with newly crowned Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns.

Following the Timberwolves’ loss to fall behind in the second-round series, 3-2, to the Nuggets, Draymond Green was critical of the Timberwolves in an appearance on NBA on TNT. Green didn’t hold back when talking about Gobert and the Timberwolves, calling the series over.

Listen here, I got two things of why this series ain’t coming back to Minnesota. No. 1, the big Frenchman is sitting on that podium speaking his native language, ‘we, we, we need to do this.’ You, you, you need to get a stop. It ain’t we. Karl-Anthony Towns is actually doing a pretty good job when he’s on Joker. It’s you my man that’s getting cooked. No we. Yes, you do need help from the other guys, but on some of those they can’t help you. You just got to get a stop. So, that’s No. 1.

No. 2, when you’re in these playoff series — for me — I’m always looking for the smallest ounce of weakness that I could find. And, the way Karl-Anthony Towns walked off that floor with the limp after he played the rest of the game completely fine. He played the rest of that game totally fine. Then he could barely walk leaving the court. They don’t believe anymore. And when you lose belief, these are the defending champs they’re playing against. When you lose the belief, it’s over. and they don’t believe they can win anymore. Which means this series is over.

Via @NBAonTNT on X:

Despite Green calling the series over, the Timberwolves will have chance to extend the series in Game 6 with elimination on the line on Thursday at home in Minnesota.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and X! 

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Don’t blame Rudy Gobert for Nikola Jokic being unstoppable

Nikola Jokic just had one of those moments. Nothing anyone could’ve done about it.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Gooood morning, Winners! Thanks so much for rocking with TMW today. We appreciate you giving us a bit of your time today.

Folks, I am here on behalf of Rudy Gobert today. Can we cut the guy some slack? Everybody is trying to take away his Defensive Player of the Year award after Tuesday night’s Game 5 against Nikola Jokic.

Draymond Green is leading the charge. The reason he doesn’t believe we’ll see a Game 7 in this series is because Rudy Gobert can’t get a stop.

“The big Frenchman is sitting on that podium speaking his native language. We, we, we need to do this. You, you, you need to get a stop,” Green said. “It’s you, my man, that is getting cooked. So, it’s no we.”

That’s harsh. But it’s also fair! Gobert was getting cooked. When Gobert was the primary defender on Jokic in Game 5, he scored 18 points on 8-9 shooting from the field. That’s bad. Really bad.

But listen, man. Let me tell y’all something. Nobody was stopping Nikola Jokic last night. Not a soul. You could’ve surrounded the basket with a literal brick wall and I’m convinced that a couple of those Dream Shakes Jokic got off would’ve made it come crumbling down Big Bad Wolf style. That’s not how that story goes, but you get the point. There’s nothing anyone could’ve done.

READ MORE: The Nuggets shouldn’t be counted out against the Timberwolves

These are the moments that make great players as great as they are. Jokic took that game in his hands from the jump and would not let it go. That doesn’t mean Gobert is ineffective or not deserving of the DPOY.

All it really means it that we’re watching the best player in the league play basketball. This is what that looks like. Enjoy it.

Unless you’re a Wolves fan, of course. Then, well, good luck in Game 6.

The Bruins survive

Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

After the Panthers took a commanding 3-1 lead against Boston with Sam Bennett’s antics behind them, it felt like the Bruins might be cooked.

Now, a few days later, this series has a chance to go the distance.

RELATED: I still can’t believe this wasn’t goal interference

The Bruins won a tough one on the road against the Panthers in Game 5, staving off elimination with a 2-1 win. Jeremy Swayman has made a ton of important saves in this one, but none bigger than this one here.

That’s one final save to prevent OT and keep the Bruin’s season alive. Now, Boston will get a Game 6 at home. This is getting good.

Maybe Diana Taurasi was right

(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Diana Taurasi warned us about Caitlin Clark and other rookies’ struggles coming into the league. That was on full display through Clark on Tuesday.

Clark struggled from the field in her debut with the Fever on Tuesday. She shot a paltry 5-for-15 from the floor while shooting 4-for-11 from deep to score 20 points. She also had the most turnovers (10) in a WNBA debut. Her first game wasn’t great.

Don’t worry about it, though. Our Meghan Hall says everything will be alright. Here’s why:

“The WNBA is full of elite defenders and scorers that Caitlin hasn’t seen yet. The Fever and Caitlin looked out of sorts because the core is really young. Also, the Sun are highly underrated and seemingly didn’t have any drop-off Tuesday from their 2023 top-three ranked defense.”

That was a tough first crack at things for Clark. The game seems a bit fast for her right now. She’ll catch up eventually.

In the meantime, though, don’t trip over a few bumps in the road. That goes for the rest of the rookies, too.

Quick hits: NFL on Netflix … Get Harrison Butker out of here … and more

— The NFL is officially coming to Netflix. Fans hate it. Streaming and sports, folks. It’s the future, I guess.

— Charles Curtis is calling for the Chiefs to do something about Harrison Butker’s hateful comments here. Let’s hope they do it.

— Y’all see these championship rings for the Aces? SHEESH. Meg Hall has more.

— Bronny James is kind of downplaying wanting to play with his dad. He just wants to be an NBA player. Bryan Kalbrosky has more.

— Caitlin Clark’s scoring prop drew more bets than any other debut in the WNBA or NBA. Prince Grimes has more.

— Here’s Charles’ running list of everything we know about the NFL schedule so far again. Stay tapped in on this one.

That’s a wrap, folks. Let’s do this again tomorrow. Until then! Peace.

-Sykes ✌️

Was San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama a Defensive Player of the Year snub?

Were the voters for the award wrong in naming the Minnesota menace the DPOY?

Was the loss of San Antonio Spurs rookie forward phenom Victor Wembanyama to Minnesota Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert for the NBA’s 2024 Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) award a snub? While the feat has never been won by a rookie player in the history of the NBA, Wemby could have been the man to do it.

Already having been named the league’s 2024 Kia Rookie of the Year award, the French big man was in the running, but ultimately lost to the T-Wolves center in the voting by a significant margin. Were the voters for the award wrong in naming the Minnesota menace the DPOY?

The host of the “Locked On Spurs” podcast, Jeff Garcia, took a closer look at what went into winning the award for Gobert in comparison to Wembanyama’s rookie season.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what he had to say about whether Wemby deserved the honor.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Rudy Gobert’s quote about the Timberwolves finally ‘embracing’ him is so telling

Rudy Gobert has finally found a place where he’s appreciated.

When it comes down to the brass tacks, Rudy Gobert is one of the greatest defenders in NBA history. The now four-time Defensive Player of the Year deserves to have a comfortable place in the Basketball Hall of Fame. But for all of his unique defensive prowess, Gobert hasn’t exactly been appreciated in the past — be it with the Utah Jazz or NBA fans at large.

It seems that has finally changed with the juggernaut Minnesota Timberwolves, and it’s so great to see.

On Wednesday, Gobert was joined by his Minnesota teammates as he officially accepted his latest DPOY. He took the opportunity to praise them for being a family and express his appreciation for being fully embraced by an organization that lets him be himself.

It was a beautiful way to see a career finally come full circle:

Gobert’s past is curious.

Despite carrying the Utah Jazz to several top team defensive rankings, NBA culture seemingly treated him like a meme. It used to blame Gobert for being unable to hold up a defense primarily by himself the moment Utah ran into a truly elite offensive team in the playoffs. It was unfair and silly then, but such is life in our hyperreactive sports culture that inadvertently turns us into prisoners of the moment.

Gobert’s actual relationship with the Jazz was strange, too. He had a well-documented falling out with former Utah superstar Donovan Mitchell, and it didn’t appear that the Jazz fully appreciated their ex-franchise center the way they should.

That has all changed with the Timberwolves.

Minnesota asks Gobert to be their formidable defensive anchor and trusts him to make the right play on offense if needed. The Timberwolves don’t treat him like a liability. They empower him and view him as a tremendous asset he can be in the right role. It is precisely that kind of mindset that has turned the Timberwolves into one of this year’s NBA Finals favorites.

Gobert’s unofficial redemption arc is a good lesson for all of us sports fans. This sentiment isn’t universal, but sometimes, a player’s negative reputation should be taken with a grain of salt if we don’t have the full context. We don’t know what’s going on in the background. We don’t know or understand the people around him. It’s easy to take the low-hanging fruit instead.

A simple change of scenery can make all the difference in the world.

Nikola Jokic’s dry joke about the Timberwolves’ big men sets the stage for the Nuggets’ toughest test yet

Nikola Jokic always tells the truth.

The Denver Nuggets are the reigning NBA champions with Nikola Jokic, the best player in the world and the likely soon-to-be three-time MVP. They will need him to start playing like it to advance past the resurgent Minnesota Timberwolves, a fellow NBA Finals-caliber opponent.

And he knows it.

On Saturday night, after the Nuggets dropped a disappointing Game 1 at home, Jokic predictably played it cool during his postgame press conference. Even though the Nuggets got off to yet another slow start and were “out-clutched” by Anthony Edwards and his friends, Jokic didn’t seem all that troubled. This sort of even-keeled approach has served him well in his nine-year career.

But Jokic’s dry joke about Minnesota’s three primary big men — Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Naz Reid — was revealing. While undoubtedly intended as respect for his opponent, it was probably also Jokic acknowledging the tall (pun not intended) test in front of him and his team:

Jokic isn’t lying. Denver could use another viable big man, even just some spot minutes, to throw into its rotation. Because what the Timberwolves can do to the Nuggets that most other teams can’t is throw three different high-quality big men at him.

Gobert is a likely soon-to-be four-time Defensive Player of the Year. Towns is one of the most gifted seven-footers in basketball. Reid won this season’s Sixth Man of the Year honors. Even with Gobert and Towns both fighting foul trouble on Saturday, Reid came in and scored 14 fourth-quarter points while doing an admirable job defending Jokic. Meanwhile, Jokic had his second straight game with at least seven turnovers, showing that he might be cracking at carrying a heavy burden for Denver while Jamal Murray nurses a calf strain.

Should that sort of mix continue, with Minnesota’s bigs collectively trying to wear Jokic down, the Nuggets’ title defense may not last much longer. If their inconsistent play doesn’t tell the story here, then the fact that they now trail in a playoff series for the first time in two years should. In due time, they may well illustrate why it’s so hard to repeat in the NBA.

Still, there remains hope for Denver.

Jokic is seldom this uncharacteristically sloppy for long stretches. With his and the Nuggets’ backs against the wall, they have usually responded very well during this era of Denver basketball with this core. When push comes to shove, the Nuggets are doing the shoving. It’s more that they haven’t had to answer this kind of adversity in a while.

The 2020 version of the Nuggets came back from consecutive 3-1 series deficits against the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers. In 2021, without both an injured Murray and Michael Porter Jr., a severely undermanned Denver squad beat the Portland Trail Blazers after also losing Game 1 of the series at home. Heck, even during last year’s Finals, and even though they were definitively the better team, Denver rebounded from a disappointing Game 2 defeat at home to the Miami Heat to storm back and take both matchups in South Beach before eventually winning its first title in franchise history in an emphatic five games.

The Timberwolves might be different. Even beyond Minnesota’s three-headed Cerberus of bigs, Edwards is a matchup problem that Denver doesn’t have a definitive answer for. In all honesty, most teams might not have an answer for Minnesota’s strengths, which is why it wouldn’t be surprising to see it win this series.

But for now, it’s just one game and one loss. It doesn’t pay to ride the emotional highs and lows of what could be a long series, as some Nuggets veterans professed on Saturday. That is, provided they even things up at 1-1 on Monday.

Denver still has Jokic, perhaps the one player in the league who could really dig deep, go into overdrive, and turn this series into the all-out war most everyone still expects. It’s hindsight in retrospect and might just be a moral victory, but the fact that the Nuggets held a four-point halftime lead and were tied with Minnesota late in the fourth quarter despite another poor Murray shooting effort should be encouraging.

The Nuggets can win this series, but Jokic and Murray have to start playing like Jokic and Murray. Jokic specifically must be the best player on either team, something that happened in each of those previous instances when opponents actually backed the Nuggets up against the wall. Murray, meanwhile, probably can’t leave the top three of the overall hierarchy by the time the dust settles. We have yet to see it this postseason but to advance to their third Western Conference Finals in the last five seasons, the Nuggets’ franchise players will have to bring their A+ game moving forward.

No questions asked.

These Nuggets have a precedent of responding with fury when they take a gut punch. It’s been a while since they took such a vicious body blow at the hands of a terrific opponent, even longer than these playoffs.

Now they have no choice but to respond in kind and deliver.

What NBA Twitter was saying about Rudy Gobert’s deal to Minnesota: ‘Potential to be one of the worst trades in NBA history’

Here’s what NBA Twitter was saying about Rudy Gobert’s trade to the Timberwolves two years ago.

Two years ago, the Minnesota Timberwolves traded multiple first-round picks to land Rudy Gobert in a deal with the Utah Jazz.

And while he has turned out to be a pretty solid player for the Timberwolves, the reactions at the time were… plenty and unpleasant for the French big man.

Victor Wembanyama is already the NBA’s best defender and this survey of 142 players proves it

No one is a better defender than Wemby, according to this survey of NBA players.

Victor Wembanyama has only played one season in the NBA but his peers already have incredibly high praise for the big man.

In an anonymous survey of 142 players around the association, reporters from The Athletic asked nearly one-third of the league to answer a series of questions. For example, we learned Indiana Fever draftee Caitlin Clark is the second-most popular non-NBA player among players in the league.

One of the questions was if you could pick one player to build a franchise around, who would it be? Wembanyama, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, emerged as the player with the most votes in this category.

Even though he missed the playoffs, Wembanyama had a slight edge over two-time NBA MVP and reigning NBA Finals MVP winner Nikola Jokic.

But that isn’t shocking considering that he is quite a bit younger and so long as he stays healthy, he should have a much longer career remaining than the Denver superstar.

Wembanyama also has a far greater defensive impact than Jokic. In fact, per this survey, he is actually a better defender than anyone else in the league.

RELATED: Here’s Victor Wembanyama’s case for Defensive Player of the Year folded up into one play against the Grizzlies

Wembanyama likely isn’t going to win the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year as a rookie.

That honor will instead potentially go to Minnesota Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert. Wembanyama, however, feels confident that the next several years of the award will go to himself.

RELATED: Victor Wembanyama’s shot at Rudy Gobert shows us just how serious he is about winning

It seems the rest of the league agrees with him, too, as they already feel he is the best defensive player in the NBA.

This is hardly a secret but the future looks bright for Wembanyama in San Antonio.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1373 tag=692792600]