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Some ominous numbers for Minnesota defensively.
44 paint points per 100 in Rudy’s minutes in G1, would’ve been best in the league defensively.
64 points in Rudy’s mins in G2, would’ve been the worst in the league.
Then Dallas finally hit 3s in the 2nd half of G2 to flip the game.
Dallas went 10/24 from 10 feet. 20 points on 24 shots. You’ll gladly live with that.
So that means Dallas absolutely killed Minnesota at the rim, and with Gobert on the floor.
When you run the tape, there’s a concerning trend for the wolves
Rudy is struggling with timing his jumps. So he’s not jumping at all and not actually contesting & altering shots. So most of Dallas’ looks at the rim are clean.
This was Dallas’ adjustment from G1. They’re challenging Gobert more often - and winning.
At 31 years old, if this is all he can offer physically at this point then Finch is backed into a depressing corner.
Either keep Rudy in drop, his timing remains poor so you’re conceding clean looks at the rim.
Or trap more often & you’re conceding open 3s
I think eventually you’ll see more traps.
Either route they choose, and this is the biggest takeaway here, Minnesota doesn’t have the personnel to make Dallas consistently uncomfortable offensively. The benefits of having Luka, Kyrie & 2 lob threats.
44 paint points per 100 in Rudy’s minutes in G1, would’ve been best in the league defensively.
64 points in Rudy’s mins in G2, would’ve been the worst in the league.
Then Dallas finally hit 3s in the 2nd half of G2 to flip the game.
Dallas went 10/24 from 10 feet. 20 points on 24 shots. You’ll gladly live with that.
So that means Dallas absolutely killed Minnesota at the rim, and with Gobert on the floor.
When you run the tape, there’s a concerning trend for the wolves
1Q - 11:36 Ant takes himself out of the play after leaving his feet, Gobert takes himself out of the play by not leaving his feet 
1Q - 10:33 Gobert again refusing to leave his feet
1Q - 7:47 Gobert doesn’t leave his feet on the Kyrie floater, o-board. Instead of challenging DJJ to make the dump-off pass, Gobert doesn’t leave his feet again.
1Q - 6:31 Naz actually should’ve stayed on his feet to make Kai finish over his length, instead he gets faked out of the play & Rudy again doesn’t even try to force a dump-off.
1Q - 2:40 Gobert in drop, not jumping, easy lob
2Q - 2:44 Lively is in a light jog & still beats Gobert down the floor. No hustle.
2Q - 2:21 Lively is a closer to a sprint this time & Gobert still shows no urgency.
3Q - 8:57 Staggered screens, Gobert decides to show instead of drop which catches his teammates off guard particularly KAT who is the low man here with the late rotation
3Q - 6:48 Same exact action, same result All 5 Minny players aren’t in sync with what coverage they’re playing
3Q - 1:54 Zone, Rudy gets to sit back the whole time, Jaden drives the zone & Rudy again doesn’t leave his feet. Doesn’t commit to anything.
3Q - 1:16 kyrie hits Ant with a subtle start-stop at the top, gets Ant on his hip and gives Ant another one in the paint to get free. The only white jersey between Kyrie and the rim is Rudy and he doesn’t get a hand up again.
4Q - 7:42 Staggered screens again, Rudy doesn’t drop again and literally doesn’t move his feet this time. Loses containment, easy dunk.
4Q - 6:20 Again, Luka just completely freezing Gobert. He isn’t leaving his feet, he isn’t committing to anything.
4Q - 3:57 he commits to Kyrie on the Naz blowby, but doesn’t jump fully or extend his arms
4Q - 2:58 Staggered again, Lively slips his screen & gets shoulder-to-shoulder with Rudy’s drop. You gotta try to keep the guy in front of you for as long as possible or you’re at risk for a lob, which is what happens here
4Q - 1:44 Staggered again, Gobert shows this time & actually tries to move his feet but too slow. He either has to be in drop or a hard blitz/trap. No in-between.
The game winner should be the final reminder for Finch Drop or trap only.
1Q - 10:33 Gobert again refusing to leave his feet
1Q - 7:47 Gobert doesn’t leave his feet on the Kyrie floater, o-board. Instead of challenging DJJ to make the dump-off pass, Gobert doesn’t leave his feet again.
1Q - 6:31 Naz actually should’ve stayed on his feet to make Kai finish over his length, instead he gets faked out of the play & Rudy again doesn’t even try to force a dump-off.
1Q - 2:40 Gobert in drop, not jumping, easy lob
2Q - 2:44 Lively is in a light jog & still beats Gobert down the floor. No hustle.
2Q - 2:21 Lively is a closer to a sprint this time & Gobert still shows no urgency.
3Q - 8:57 Staggered screens, Gobert decides to show instead of drop which catches his teammates off guard
particularly KAT who is the low man here with the late rotation3Q - 6:48 Same exact action, same result
All 5 Minny players aren’t in sync with what coverage they’re playing3Q - 1:54 Zone, Rudy gets to sit back the whole time, Jaden drives the zone & Rudy again doesn’t leave his feet. Doesn’t commit to anything.
3Q - 1:16 kyrie hits Ant with a subtle start-stop at the top, gets Ant on his hip and gives Ant another one in the paint to get free. The only white jersey between Kyrie and the rim is Rudy and he doesn’t get a hand up again.
4Q - 7:42 Staggered screens again, Rudy doesn’t drop again and literally doesn’t move his feet this time. Loses containment, easy dunk.
4Q - 6:20 Again, Luka just completely freezing Gobert. He isn’t leaving his feet, he isn’t committing to anything.
4Q - 3:57 he commits to Kyrie on the Naz blowby, but doesn’t jump fully or extend his arms
4Q - 2:58 Staggered again, Lively slips his screen & gets shoulder-to-shoulder with Rudy’s drop. You gotta try to keep the guy in front of you for as long as possible or you’re at risk for a lob, which is what happens here
4Q - 1:44 Staggered again, Gobert shows this time & actually tries to move his feet but too slow. He either has to be in drop or a hard blitz/trap. No in-between.
The game winner should be the final reminder for Finch
Drop or trap only.Rudy is struggling with timing his jumps. So he’s not jumping at all and not actually contesting & altering shots. So most of Dallas’ looks at the rim are clean.
This was Dallas’ adjustment from G1. They’re challenging Gobert more often - and winning.
At 31 years old, if this is all he can offer physically at this point then Finch is backed into a depressing corner.
Either keep Rudy in drop, his timing remains poor so you’re conceding clean looks at the rim.
Or trap more often & you’re conceding open 3s
I think eventually you’ll see more traps.
Either route they choose, and this is the biggest takeaway here, Minnesota doesn’t have the personnel to make Dallas consistently uncomfortable offensively. The benefits of having Luka, Kyrie & 2 lob threats.
