The numbers say Kendrick Perkins is wrong about Rudy Gobert

Despite criticism, Gobert has lived up to his DPOY billing.

May 10, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) controls the ball / Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins criticized Rudy Gobert Monday, questioning whether he is deserving of his Defensive Player of the Year award.

"Isn't Rudy Gobert the DPOY? Why is it all the time he's the DPOY in the regular season but he's a defensive liability come playoff time?" Perkins said on ESPN's Get Up.

But here's the thing. The Wolves are +15.9 points per 100 possessions with Gobert on the floor and -4.9 when he’s off in the playoffs. Can Perkins explain that?

Gobert is stastically one of the best defensive players to ever play in the NBA, recently tying the record with four Defensive Player of the Year awards. But he continues to receive criticism come playoff time even though the numbers continue to tell a different story. This was an issue for him in Utah and it has continued in Minnesota.

There were a lot of things not working defensively in Game 4 for the Timberwolves. The Nuggets shot 57.0% from the field and 44.8% from 3-point range.

To start the second quarter, Chris Finch and his staff deployed a never-before-seen lineup of Mike Conley Jr., Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Kyle Anderson, Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid. That group got outscored by 10 points in 2 minutes and 21 seconds as Denver's lead ballooned to 15 points and Minnesota never recovered.

Something about Gobert has made him a scapegoat for media to blame his team's struggles on throughout his entire career, but the Timberwolves' recent struggles have had little to do with the Frechman's performance.