Watched the game last night and have to dispute some takes regarding Conley. Sure he was 0-6 last night, big deal, still a plus player with six assists and two steals. The big improvement however is more organic and involves the resurgence of Rudy Gobert. Nothing but praise from the talking heads regarding the playmaking talents of Conley and what it means to Gobert. Said there’s a new skip in Rudy’s step since Conley hit town and it’s so obvious to see. Talking about him knowing exactly where to give him the ball followed by Conley himself giving a clinic with a few beautiful assists to the big man.
Bigs must be fed to get going. And Rudy looked like Allstar DPOY Rudy last night with 17 pts, 19 rbs and 3 blocks, made life for Porzingis particularly difficult but also affected Beal big time. (From a fan’s perspective, it’s nice to see Rudy not continually getting shut out on the pick and roll.) Some absolutely filthy alley oops from Conley to Gobert last night. After the huge win in Dallas (1st game for Conley), where Rudy went 9/9 for 21 pts and 14 boards, +17.
Last night’s loss was nothing to do with Conley or Rudy’s play but more to do with poor coaching, an inconsistent superstar in Edwards and some bad luck. If Kuzma doesn’t make that desperation three with less than a minute (as I recall) the Wolves hang on for the win. Things just snowballed from there.