Utah, Rudy Gobert Is In Good Hands

Last night the Los Angeles Lakers downed the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 2 of their first round playoff matchup, 94-85, to tie the series up at a game apiece.

The game was highlighted by Luka Doncic (31 pts) and LeBron James (21 pts) combining for 52 points and 23 rebounds as the stars outpowered anything Minnesota could throw at them.

This success came against 4 time defensive player of the year award winner and three time All-Star , Rudy Gobert, who was only on the floor for 29 minutes, the 2^nd least among the Wolves starters.

Thus, as one could piece together, a major storyline around this game is how the Lakers abused and picked on poor Rudy Gobert and how he is clearly overrated.

It’s a reoccurring theme and has been ever since Gobert started to come close winning his first defensive player of the year award as far back as 2017.

Sure, Gobert has gathered many fans who have appreciated the Frenchman rising up as an afterthought D-league player to one of the best defensive minds to play the game.

However there are many who view him as fraudulent and undeserving of his accolades and are quite vocal about it.

These haters range from fans, current and former players and certain members of basketball media who often cite a lack of offensive capabilities or the supposed inability to guard the perimeter.

Utah Jazz fans need not have this explained to them.

For years upon years, Jazz fans battled these haters daily, weekly, yearly even, to disprove any narratives that were pushed on their home-grown center.

If there was ever the slightest game where it appeared some of the blame could be on Rudy, there were multiple Jazz fans citing shooting percentages and defensive shifts and missed assignments to alleviate such pressures.

Not to say that Gobert always deserved to be seen as blameless, he had plenty of major shortcomings himself, but often times, good fans made sure that a good player was represented properly.

Afterall, Utah loved him and he loved Utah, and Utah goes to bat for their own every time.

Despite Gobert being shipped away from Utah after 9 seasons, the narratives have not dispersed, but thankfully neither has the support.

Although these days, the supporters aren’t all accounts with J-Notes and Jazz insignia in their profile picture.

Last night’s Minnesota loss proved exactly that.

The support for Rudy was out in full force trying to shred the idea that “he was played off the floor” or that he was “unplayable.”

Here’s a look at what they had to say in rebuttal:

Cold, hard, unwavering stats are always a good clap back.

How about rolling the full game tape instead of isolated highlight plays? That's Grade A material.

Pulling the defensive rating with Gobert on the floor vs off the floor is a tried and true classic as well.

If stats and game film don't do it, just be open about it, talk it out and hope the positivity makes an impression.

Jazz fans may still feel the urge to go to war for Gobert as a former fan favorite despite him being in Minnesota for three years now, but don’t worry about it.

Rest easy, drop your shields, lower the swords, it’s no longer your battle to fight and there are other soldiers picking up the slack.

You can still support those fighting the good fight, but Gobert is in good hands.

Which is great because I’m not sure how to explain these offensive stats:

Like i said, he can't be entirely blameless, right?

In any case through thick and thin, Gobert has always had the right mindset, he understands he will never win over the masses or be universally loved in the NBA.

And that's ok, he seems to be a big "control what you can control" kind of guy and as per usual, love him or hate him, he's gonna let his play do the talking.

And if that isn't effective enough, he will always have a group of loyal fans ready to make sure it's seen in the right light.