To be clear: That is fantastic for a 20-year-old. Most of the all-in-one advanced metrics - FiveThirtyEight’s RAPTOR, ESPN’s real plus-minus, The Analyst’s DRIP, value over replacement player, Taylor Snarr’s estimated plus-minus, regularized adjusted plus-minus - pegged him as roughly a top-40-to-80 player last season. He improved his shooting percentages all over the court, nudged his assist percentage north as he got more comfortable operating in the pick-and-roll, and made significant strides as an on-ball defender capable of bodying up opponents’ top scoring threats. He stepped up his scoring another notch in his playoff debut, joining Luka as the only 20-year-olds to average 25 a game in the postseason.Īlready an electric driver with a lightning-quick first step, the vertical thrust of a space shuttle launch, and the strength to bulldoze his way to the rim, Edwards added more craft to his game in Year 2. 550-or-better true shooting by age 20, joining some pretty great company: Shaquille O’Neal, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, Luka Doncic, Zion Williamson and fellow 2020 draftee LaMelo Ball. In his second season, Edwards became the ninth player in the last 30 years to average 20 points per game on. Which brings us to the second reason you trade away so much draft capital: You think you’ve already got the most important part of your future locked up. The Wolves carved opponents up, led by both Towns’ resurgence to All-NBA form and the ongoing ascent of Anthony Edwards - who looked at times (like in Round 1 against Memphis) like he might already be Minnesota’s most dependable offensive player. He could, though: Adding Gobert essentially grafts an all-in-one recipe for a top-10 defense onto an offense that ranked as the NBA’s best after Jan. Paul Pioneer Press, the Wolves plan to toggle between drop when Gobert’s on the floor and the “high wall” scheme when the Frenchman rests and KAT or Naz Reid slides to the 5 spot. Want to dial back the pressure in favor of a more solid base scheme? Only the Warriors allowed fewer points per possession last season in “soft” or drop coverage than the Jazz, according to Second Spectrum tracking data, thanks largely to Gobert out of 152 players to log at least 250 defensive possessions in a drop, he finished fourth in points per chance allowed, despite significantly higher volume than the top three ( Kevon Looney, Isaiah Hartenstein and Taj Gibson).įinch won’t completely abandon the system with which Minnesota found success last season according to Jace Frederick of the St. Want to stop giving up second-chance opportunities? Gobert has ranked in the top six in defensive rebounding rate in each of the last four seasons, and led the NBA last season by inhaling more than 36% of available misses - the seventh-highest rate in the last 40 years, according to Stathead. His shot-blocking prowess lingers in the minds of drivers like the fear that they forgot to pack something, but they just can’t remember what his constant presence allows defenders to stick tighter to their men on the perimeter. Want to stop giving up so many high-quality looks? The Jazz hardly ever allowed shots at the rim or from the short corners during Gobert’s tenure in Utah. It feels impossible to conceive of a more direct response to what ailed the Wolves than adding Rudy Gobert - three-time Defensive Player of the Year, six-time All-Defensive First Team selection and one-man answer for turning the paint into a no-fly zone. The thing about blitzing, though, is that when you don’t get home and hit the quarterback, you can give up a lot of big plays: Minnesota finished near the bottom of the league in opponent field-goal percentage at the rim, second-chance points allowed, defensive rebounding rate, and corner 3-pointers conceded.Īfter a disappointing first-round loss to the Grizzlies in which they blew three double-figure leads, new Wolves president Tim Connelly knew he had to find a way to keep slashers like Ja Morant out of the paint and relentless rebounders like Brandon Clarke off the offensive glass. To their credit, the Wolves did create plenty of chaos, forcing turnovers at the NBA’s second-highest rate last season. arrived at that above-average defensive production through a shadow-game gamble - mitigating Karl-Anthony Towns’ weaknesses as a rim protector through frenetic trapping of ball screens and hair-on-fire rotations behind the play. Minnesota ranked 13th in points allowed per possession last season, the franchise’s best finish in eight years. Rudy Gobert brings the ball up the court ahead of Damian Jones of the Lakers in their preseason game at T-Mobile Arena on Oct.
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