In three pages of Rudy talk all I have read is comments about Rudy's offense. Defense is the problem. He can't guard anyone. He has the physique of a marathon runner when he needs bulk. He can't guard an NBA 2 or 3 in the post. He avoids contact and is amazingly soft on the glass. He may score 12 but he will give up 20. It transfers to offense because there are some games where he can't match-up on the defensive end and others where he is able to somewhat survive...inconsistent minutes dictated by his defensive ability...causes him to struggle with offensive rhythm. A coach's nightmare.
Exactly. He can be a decent 7th man or 8th man, because a lot of bench guards are combo guards--too small to start at SG, too slow/shoot-first to be a PG. He does ok defending a lot of those guys during the regular season. But we all saw what happened when you insert him as a starter or give him too prominent a role in the playoffs. He gets abused, over and over. Particularly in a playoff series where the opposing coach has the time to focus on exploiting him over a series.
And I love comparing him to Batum on offense. Batum not only shoots the ball much better, but he's much faster at making his decision. You pass the ball to him, he'll shoot, drive or pass it. He doesn't fart around with his dribble trying to create something. He keeps things moving. He's the anti-black hole. He's a good post entry passer and has the height to see the floor, so he has options. When you have Roy, Oden, Aldridge and Miller on your team, that's what you want in a guy like him.
Even when Rudy is at his best, he's running off screens. That's a good trick for a few plays a game, but it's so transparent what we're trying to do that it's not nearly as effective as focusing the offense on Roy, Aldridge and Oden. But that's Rudy at his best. At his worst he's out at the three point line, the defender is up on him tight to defend the three (why wouldn't he be?), and Rudy is trying and failing to punish the defender with some sloppy half-assed dribble move that is going nowhere because he doesn't have the handle. Or he's passing it out to the top of the key to re-set the offense, effectively wasting anything productive the offense had done up to that point in the possession.
I was a big fan of Rudy, but this year has really opened my eyes to all his limitations. I was hoping we'd have traded him last summer while his value was so high. (I never really saw him being happy behind Roy.) Now I really wish we had while his value was high. Because it's at an all-time low right now. I doubt we can trade him for much.
