Chris Finch shed light on Rudy Gobert, who continues to impress with his defense.
Rudy Gobert has undeniably been one of the best defensive players of his generation, and he has the four Defensive Player of the Year awards to prove it.
This season has been no exception, though Gobert's defense has flown under the radar more this year than it has in seasons past. He once again proved why he is such a defensive asset in the Minnesota Timberwolves' 115-104 win over the New York Knicks Tuesday night.
It was a relatively quiet night for Gobert offensively with just 11 points, but he delivered with 16 rebounds and three blocks and locked down his opponents time and time again and proved to be especially effective as the game wound down and the Knicks attempted a comeback, though Gobert was there to step them in their tracks while his offense tacked on some insurance points.
Battling with Mitchell Robinson
Gobert's one big challenge in the game was squaring up against Mitchell Robinson, who finished the game with seven rebounds, six of them offensive.
While Robinson was getting the better of Robert at times when it came to fighting at New York's rim, Minnesota head coach Chris Finch attributes those numbers to the rest of the team keeping their distance at the rim, rather than any failure on Gobert's part.
"Robinson's [Mitchell Robinson] super tough on the off offensive glass... But, to be fair to Rudy, a lot of those offensive rebounds that came in the second were because we were just gambling on the perimeter and giving them free runs to the basket, and Rudy had to step up," Finch said (via BASKETMAN).
With as dominant an offense as the Timberwolves have, their defense has been left lacking at times. Gobert has been doing the bulk of the heavy lifting when it comes to the defensive end of the court, which has made any flaws in the rest of the team far more survivable throughout the season and given the offense space to shine.
"DPOY Stuff"
Still, despite Gobert's efforts, he hasn't been given as much attention as he has in his previous, award-winning season, the most recent of which came in the 2023-24 season.
Gobert has been left off of the NBA's favorites list for this year's DPOY, and his defensive rating this season has sunk below players like Brandin Podziemski and Klay Thompson. But, as far as Chris Finch is concerned?
"It's Defensive Player of the Year stuff," Finch said of Gobert. "Every bit as good as it was two seasons ago and every other time he's won the award. It's phenomenal."