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Are Jazz fans looking at Rudy through homer glasses?

Which young center has the best future?

  • Total voters
    53
freakazoid

freakazoid

Well-Known Member
Ok, it's only fair to ask the question. There have been a few posters like loggrad who have suggested as much. To be fair, Rudy is going to have to stay healthy in order to prove his doubters wrong. Having said that, I present a poll of fans around the league, and if you read the responses, many people voting have an agenda with their own guy, or even against certain teams. Just the same, let the majority speak their voice, because the truth has a way of making itself known. Rudy is an incredibly special player, and even though few NBA fans pay attention to the Jazz, especially when they are losing, Rudy is already becoming a household name. It's only a matter of time before he is known worldwide, and that's not hyperbole. Long live the Rudy.
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The original poll left off Drummond, because it was assumed he'd win easily. I left off Cousins for similar reasons. Both guys are ahead of the pack, but Rudy is nippin at their buttcheeks.
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https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=42440262#p42440262
 
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Also, don't need anyone to point out that Favors is a PF now. I needed one more name to make 10, and Faves has played it, regardless of desire.
 
Damnit, left off Whiteside. It's crazy how many legit big men are arriving in the league. Chit about to get real.
 
Im just saying, but have you seen everybody watching Gobert around the league and their responses.
 
French Bill Russell. Gonna be raking up dem DPOY awards the next decade, along with a few championships.

Get on board, the train is leaving the station.


Choo Choo.
 
Bawse Dawg said:
French Bill Russell. Gonna be raking up dem DPOY awards the next decade, along with a few championships.

Get on board, the train is leaving the station.


Choo Choo.
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I voted for Gobert, but to say he's a "french Bill Russell" is as far our there as to Gordon Hayward is the next Pistol Pete. Bill Russell won 11 rings in 13 years of playing. His stats were incredible, but he was great because he made his players better. His coach Red Auerbach allowed him to make many coaching decisions while on the court or on the bench. Red involved Bill in everything. Gobert is a great player but is not one equal to Bill Russell.
 
Lakers_Slapper said:
I voted for Gobert, but to say he's a "french Bill Russell" is as far our there as to Gordon Hayward is the next Pistol Pete. Bill Russell won 11 rings in 13 years of playing. His stats were incredible, but he was great because he made his players better. His coach Red Auerbach allowed him to make many coaching decisions while on the court or on the bench. Red involved Bill in everything. Gobert is a great player but is not one equal to Bill Russell.
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To be fair to rudy, the talent level is way better now than when russell played. And rudy does make all of his teammates look better. Premature, yes. But rudy has not let us down yet.
 
b_line said:
To be fair to rudy, the talent level is way better now than when russell played. And rudy does make all of his teammates look better. Premature, yes. But rudy has not let us down yet.
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And he won't. People need to stop being so negative. If you don't think Rudy is at least as good as Bill Russell, then I hesitate to call you a Jazz fan at all, tbh.
 
Rudy is already a better rim protector than Drummond (and everyone else for that matter) and he can actually hit a FT.

I also expect him to get up to Drummond's level of rebounding.
 
Bawse Dawg said:
And he won't. People need to stop being so negative. If you don't think Rudy is at least as good as Bill Russell, then I hesitate to call you a Jazz fan at all, tbh.
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I'm not being negative, I think Rudy has a great upside and think he is one of the best diamonds in the rough that any team has ever found. But I am also realistic. In consideration of talent level of the NBA, look at what Russell did. He won 8 championships in a row with the Celtics. Regardless of where the NBA was athletically, that is incredible and you have to give credit where credit is due. 8 in a row is the most incredible feat of any team in any sport in history. Because the talent level was not as great as today, that makes it all the more special. He wasn't surrounded by the talent today's NBA players have and managed to win 8 in a row, solely because of him. I never said Gobert didn't make players that were surrounding him better. The day that he leads us to 8 championships in a row, you will then and only then have an argument. To say he is matched with great Bill Russell is an insult to all NBA greats. If you or anyone really believes that then I won't question whether your a jazz fan, but I will question whether your an intellectual, or know anything about basketball outside of the Utah Jazz, DL, KOC, and Hayward.
 
I've been listening to a lot of the opposing team announcers on LP this year and when you step out of the bubble the excitement surrounding this guy is almost as big as it is inside. Part of it is that he kind of came out of nowhere so the league "hype machine" has a little catching up to do; but everyone is very impressed by this guy and his ability to protect the rim/alter shots.
 
Gobert wins easily because he is already the best of the bunch (by far) at the most important skill for a 5 : protecting the basket. Basketball isn't an overly specialised sport when you compare it to football for example : all 5 players on the floor need to be able to pass the ball, score it, stay in front of their man, etc... but some skills are more central to a position than others : A team needs a few scoring beasts, but it doesn't matter where it comes from : it could be from a Westbrook (PG), from a KD (SF) or from a Gasol (C).

But the 2 big needs that are very specific is that on the floor at one point in the game, you'll have a player who will need to bring the ball up and initiate offense from the outsite (PG or sometimes SG like Harden), just as you will have the opposing team attacking your basket and you will have your taller guy (your C) standing near it trying to protect it. Gobert is already elite at that key skill of the 5. At the 5, a 10/10/3 guy who makes the other team shoot 40% at the rim is a massie asset, even though his stats are overshadowed by a 16/12/2 guy, who happens to let the other team shoot 50% at the rim.
 
I saw that Rudy was the 1st entry in the pole, voted for him without hesitation and didn't even go through the rest of the list.
 
I'd say that my excitement with Rudy is a bit exaggerated as a Jazz fan, but its not all that far fetched. He is an elite rim protector and has the 'fire' that this team has needed. We can be a team leader easily. It's all a matter of who much his offensive game improves. But with his current skill set he should be considered for DPOY, which is scary considering how raw he was last season and at the start of this season even.
 
Of course we are looking at Rudy through homer glasses. But he is a solid big man with a good work ethic who tries to bring it every game. He has holes in his game, no doubt, but the stuff he does well, he does very well indeed for the most part. And he is fun to watch and has potential to get better and finally gives us some hope after lots of mediocrity since Stock and Malone left. I think we need to enjoy it while we can.
 
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