Marcus Smart fires shots at Rudy's overrated defense

[Manny98]

"Let's think about it," he said. "As a guard, especially on the team that switches a lot, especially on the No. 1 defensive team, you are worried about every single player. And here's the thing: When you see Defensive Player of the Year, that means he can guard all five spots"Nothing against Rudy, but Rudy can't guard all five spots. I can guard all five spots and I have been doing it. I've done it very well."



I agree I believe the best defenders are the ones that can switch on to anyone like Giannis,Bam, Green and Smart over guys who are just rim protectors

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10031328-celtics-marcus-smart-talks-dpoy-race-says-rudy-gobert-cant-guard-all-5-spots

[FultzNationRISE]

I agree I believe the best defenders are the ones that can switch on to anyone like Giannis,Bam, Green and Smart over guys who are just rim protectors

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10031328-celtics-marcus-smart-talks-dpoy-race-says-rudy-gobert-cant-guard-all-5-spots


Exactly.

Lebron deserves to have like 7 of these things, but sadly the voters don't understand what real defensive value is.

[GimmeThat]

it's overrated because Rudy isn't able to talk to people about defending himself

[post]

egotistical midget shoots 38% for his career

https://c.tenor.com/kM1XFyizcFcAAAAM/tiny-wizard-of-oz.gif

[Axe]

Is he willing to be a fulltime screensetter for golden state in case he goes there someday? :ohwell:

[dirkdiggler41]

Rudy is not good at the permieter and that hurts the Jazz, but his great otherwise on defence. Like Smart is not good at protecting the paint with shotblocking.

[Xiao Yao You]

Back to saying Gobert doesn't guard the perimeter again despite the facts being the opposite. :roll:

[ralph_i_el]

Rudy Gobert is good on the perimeter for a 5. The Jazz play him the way they do so that they can play a bunch of offense-first no defense players on the perimeter, and they can funnel their man to him when they inevitably get blown-by. Gobert got more freedom to play out on the perimeter for France in the Olympics and did a great job.

[Xiao Yao You]

https://saltcityhoops.com/dispelling-myths-aroung-goberts-defense/

This is from last year


Gobert defended 1,335 shots this year, 184 more than anyone else. The 267 3-point shots he defended are the fourth most among 67 NBA Centers, and also more than Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler, Marcus Smart, OG Anunoby, and Kawhi Leonard. He’s defended the seventh most shots in isolation (78), and the most shots attempted on cuts to the basket (229). It’s safe to say Gobert puts himself out there in terms of guarding every player on every play more than anyone in the league.




Let’s start with isolation defense. This year, there were 87 players that guarded at least 50 isolations. If mainstream highlight reels are your source of information here, you’d expect to see Rudy at the bottom of the pack. Actually, the opposite is true. Gobert allows the seventh fewest points per possession (PPP). Opponents score an average of 0.71 points per isolation when Gobert is defending. That’s less than Simmons (0.73), Anunoby (0.76), Bam Adebayo (0.78), Mikal Bridges (0.97), Giannis Antetokounmpo (1.06), Clint Capela (1.07), and Myles Turner (1.08).




Gobert also allows the third lowest scoring frequency (30.6%), the eighth lowest FG% (32%), and the fourth lowest FT throw frequency (4.7%) when guarding opponents in isolation. So, how’s Gobert so good at guarding isolation? He stays in front, goes straight up with his 7’9 wingspan arms, and contests without fouling.




Next, there’s guarding the ball handler in the pick and roll. There are 201 players that have guarded the ball handler in a pick and roll at least 10 times (min. 50 games played). Since tracking data has only picked up that Gobert has guarded the ball in the pick and roll on 15 possessions, this data isn’t as tight as the isolation data, but it’s what we have to deal with. Of the 201 players, Rudy Gobert allows the sixth fewest points per possession (0.67), which is better than basically every household name including Adebayo (0.69), Butler (0.74), Leonard (0.87), Simmons (0.87), and Antetokounpo (0.88).




Next, we have spot-up shooting or catch-and-shoot defense. This is basically how well defenders close out on a shooter that was just passed the ball. There are 233 players who have guarded at least 100 spot-up plays. Again, Gobert allows the seventh fewest points per possession (0.83).




Gobert again is basically better than every top defender. Allowing just 0.83 points per possession on these higher percentage shots is outstanding.




However, this still tells us something. The reality is that Gobert has a far better score here than most players on this list because he matches up with guards a fair amount of the time (17.1%). Conversely, Simmons matches up with centers only 6.1% of the time. That’s a big difference. In terms of how each player does in the other guy’s wheelhouse, Gobert holds guards to 39.1% field goal shooting (Simmons 42.1%), while Simmons allows centers to shoot 57.9% (Gobert 43.4%).




If anything, the real issue in these playoff series for the Jazz was offense-related. The Jazz1 (https://saltcityhoops.com/dispelling-myths-aroung-goberts-defense/#note-1) simply could not score. But in terms of the quality of the Gobert-led defense, it held up. Gobert most certainly did not get played off the court in either of those series. His minutes in the 2017 Warriors series were actually higher than his regular season minutes average, and in 2019 he played just 1.4 minutes per game less than he did over his 81 games.



and he was playing hurt against GS


These common criticisms of Gobert’s game just don’t hold water when you analyze his outcomes in these areas relative to other top defenders. Whether it’s his perimeter defense, his positional versatility or his postseason impact, the lazy narratives don’t come close to describing the reality of all that Gobert does. In fact, dive into the numbers and film on any of those three areas, and it only strengthens his case: Gobert is, quite simply, the best defender in the NBA right now, full stop.



sorry Marcus and trolls. The facts win out again. Better luck next time :roll:

[AlternativeAcc.]

Never seen a player get so openly disrespected by his current league mates than Gobert.

They all know he's over hyped. They don't respect his game

Dray called him an average defender. Dray knows his shit

[Tycriss]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_F6iP5JFmk

[fourkicks44]

Interesting take by Smart. I can understand the logic in his argument, however I would love to see him try gaurd Boban in the post one on one. Maybe then he can truly practice what he preaches.

[Full Court]

To be fair, if Gobert was out guarding the perimeter, that would be very low IQ of him.

[Real Men Wear Green]

You guys love to take things way out of context. saying a center can't guard on the perimeter is firing a shot now? All some of you do is lie and misrepresent.

[ArbitraryWater]

Dont think any player respects Rudy

[Xiao Yao You]

Dont think any player respects Rudy

why do they constantly dribble into the paint and dribble back out again when they get to him? That's the ultimate respect

[Proctor]

How much respect does someone like Terrance Mann show Rudy?

[Xiao Yao You]

How much respect does someone like Terrance Mann show Rudy?

more than a troll who's got him behind Whiteside and Monroe :roll:

[Proctor]

more than a troll who's got him behind Whiteside and Monroe :roll:
Only in the playoffs

[Xiao Yao You]

The Dallas Mavericks reportedly would have “significant interest” in Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert if the team were to make him available, (https://ahnfiredigital.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/report-dallas-mavericks-would-have-significant-interest-in-rudy-gobert-if-utah-jazz-were-to-make-him-available/) according to Tim MacMahon on the Lowe Post podcast. It also sounds like Gobert would love to play with Mavericks star Luka Doncic.

– via Peter Dewey @ ahnfiredigital.com (https://ahnfiredigital.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/report-dallas-mavericks-would-have-significant-interest-in-rudy-gobert-if-utah-jazz-were-to-make-him-available/)




While there is no indication that the Jazz plan to part ways with Gobert, who is under contract for several seasons, it appears Dallas will be monitoring the situation very closely (https://ahnfiredigital.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/report-dallas-mavericks-would-have-significant-interest-in-rudy-gobert-if-utah-jazz-were-to-make-him-available/).
– via Peter Dewey @ ahnfiredigital.com (https://ahnfiredigital.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/report-dallas-mavericks-would-have-significant-interest-in-rudy-gobert-if-utah-jazz-were-to-make-him-available/)




sorry Mavs fans but the trolls will follow him

[AirBonner]

Marcus is just stating the facts

[BigShotBob]

Marcus Smart cannot guard 1-5 :oldlol:

[CelticBaller]

Dont think any player respects Rudy

how can anyone respect a guy who cries over all star games

[CelticBaller]

Marcus Smart cannot guard 1-5 :oldlol:

he constantly does lol

[Real Men Wear Green]

Marcus Smart cannot guard 1-5 :oldlol:

He can and does guard them on switches. It wouldn't work for a whole game but he can stand up to a big for a few seconds on a possession.

[BigShotBob]

He can and does guard them on switches. It wouldn't work for a whole game but he can stand up to a big for a few seconds on a possession.

Everyone has to guard everyone on switches which would make his point moot. I'm not a fan of Rudy but to act like he doesn't or can't switch onto guards and play them in stretches is asinine.....I've even seen Drummond do it

[Manny98]

How much respect does someone like Terrance Mann show Rudy?
About this much

https://i.postimg.cc/vTZNxRvX/terance-mann-mann.gif

https://i.postimg.cc/KzJ92qyT/terance-mann-rudy-gobert.gif

[Real Men Wear Green]

Everyone has to guard everyone on switches which would make his point moot. I'm not a fan of Rudy but to act like he doesn't or can't switch onto guards and play them in stretches is asinine.....I've even seen Drummond do it

We are not talking about just going through the motions we are talking about stops. For example Smart had to defend one of the Pacer bigs in transition last night and drew an offensive foul. Drummond is not going to stop a guard one on one.

[iamgine]

"When you see Defensive Player of the Year, that means he can guard all five spots"

That right there makes no sense. Who thinks it means that. :lol

[AirBonner]

"When you see Defensive Player of the Year, that means he can guard all five spots"

That right there makes no sense. Who thinks it means that. :lol

The thing is players actively seek out Toody on offense. He doesn’t deter anyone

[Xiao Yao You]

The thing is players actively seek out Toody on offense. He doesn’t deter anyone

fake news from the trolls