It’s a Rudy Gobert relaxed and smiling that we found in the corridors of the Chase Center. His Wolves logically dominated the Warriors to sign a 6th victory in a row, and the two teams meet again on Tuesday for an “In-Season Tournament” meeting.
The balance of power seems reversed at the start of the season, and this Minnesota team has more certainties than the Warriors, in particular because the French pivot has returned to his best level.
With this back-to-back at the Chase Center, you’re in San Francisco for five days, and that rarely happens outside of New York and Los Angeles. Do you take the opportunity to explore the city or do you prefer to stay in a hotel?
It depends… There, we arrived on Friday, and we had training on Saturday. Afterwards I went back to the hotel to do some weight training and a massage, and I went to dinner. I didn’t have much time to visit. Today we had a match, late in the afternoon, and you stay in your match day routine. I still got some sun this afternoon (editor’s note: it was 19 degrees with a big blue sky in San Francisco). But maybe tomorrow I’ll go explore the city a little. In general, I really try to use my time to recover and when the weather is nice, I like to take the opportunity to get some sun. And otherwise, my way of discovering a city is mainly through restaurants. I like going to good spots. I went to Kokkari (a Greek restaurant) Saturday. This is my favorite restaurant here. I go there every time I’m here. I would definitely go back on Monday.
“We were a team capable of incredible things in defense but we also made minimal mistakes”
On the basketball side, we have the impression that since the start of the season, you are back at your best level. That of Jazz. How do you explain it?
First, I’ll correct you a little: a lot of people tell me that I’ve found my level again, but personally, I think I’ve never played so well. On defense, I’ve never been at that level and collectively our group is pretty unique. I have the ability to raise the level of a defense and if you add the individual defensive qualities that we have in the squad, it’s unique. I’m really happy with the way we started training camp, the habits we’re developing and what we’ve produced defensively since the start of the season.
It’s true that we feel more connected, more concerned defensively since the preseason and it’s also in line with your end of last season, despite the elimination in the first round against Denver. Was there something that clicked?
Last year in fact, we were a team capable of incredible things defensively but we also made minimal mistakes. We didn’t come back on defense, we gave backdoors… I think we were one of the five worst teams in the league in defensive rebounding! It’s not because we didn’t have good rebounders but because we fell asleep and forgot to make delay screens. So, all of that was a stain on what we were trying to build. This season, we started with the desire to be more mature. Last season, we were 4 wins and 13 losses against the six lowest ranked teams in the league, while we were good against the big teams.
“The mindset of a team preparing to aim for the NBA Finals”
You also declared that with four more victories, you would have finished 3rd in the West…
The perception changes immediately. We knew that it was simply a problem of maturity, of concentration, so we knew that we had to emphasize that. And of course the arrival of Mike Conley at the deadline last season was also super important but this year we came back with the mindset of a team preparing to aim for the NBA Finals. With high standards, with direct communication and taking responsibility, and when someone makes a mistake in defense, we communicate and say things to each other. Whether it’s me, whether it’s someone else, but the important thing is to set the bar high to be able to raise our level of play.
Last season, you were in the soft underbelly of the Western Conference and you had to run behind the top six. What difference does it make to be able to start strong and hit the right wagon?
It’s important to get off to a good start, especially this year given the level of the conference. Last year, we really realized that every game counts. At the same time, it is important to start well, but we cannot be satisfied with that, we must continue to progress, continue to be regular. We win tonight but I know we’re going to see a lot of things on video that we could have done better. It’s part of the process. It’s good to win matches now, but we also need to be able to be at our best in mid-April.
You play the Warriors again on Tuesday, does that change your preparation, given that it becomes a “mini series” of playoffs in the end?
It’s always more complicated to play the same team twice in a row. For both teams, it gives an opportunity to watch the video and see what we can improve. Beyond the score, it gives us the opportunity to progress, to be more precise. And then, they will surely arrive on Tuesday with some adjustments so that adds a dimension that we rarely have in the regular season.
“Victor is ahead of what I imagined this year”
You were complimentary of Victoir Wembanyama last week after your face-to-face meeting in San Antonio. This evening, he almost scored a triple-double against Miami…
Oh yeah ? What did he do ?
He ends up with 17, 11 and 7.
7 counters ??
No no. 18 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, and 1 block, being clumsy and well defended by Bam Adebayo at the end of the match…
They lost ?
Yes, they lose by five points…
At Miami ?
No, in San Antonio… Are you surprised by what he shows on an individual level and his statistics after these first ten games in the NBA?
I’m impressed… In fact, it’s ahead of what I imagined this year. For example, the performance he signed in Phoenix, I thought he would do it after a few months of the regular season. I know how he works, I know how serious he is, I know how everything is constructed in his daily routine and he really does everything it takes to put himself in the best possible conditions to be successful. But it’s true that between the Summer League and the start of the season, I’m impressed to see his evolution in two months. All credit goes to his work and the habits he builds.
You also said he was ahead of his defensive positioning. Can you give us an example or explain in more detail for our readers what you mean by that?
In fact, he’s not too naive. He understands the deterrent he can have… Usually, rookies make a lot more mistakes, the game still goes a little too fast for them. And this is not the case with him and that proves his intelligence, despite his young age.
Comments collected in San Francisco.
