Fyi KD said this before Game 1 when KD was asked about how Suns would gameplan for the twin towers and the overall Wolves defense. KD clearly watches his film.
In game 1, we saw the multiple facets of Rudy's defense that KD was talking about. Since Rudy's rim deterrence isn't as necessary against the Suns compared to other teams, Rudy not only and from the rim, he and on the perimeter, onto guards, and on multiple occasions defended Beal and Booker in isolation. Excellent (and Booker's even better offense). At times, Gobert both contested in space and at the rim to deter multiple players within the same possession. For example, he's on the perimeter, then goes back to the rim to deter Beal who passes out to Gordan but Rudy deters him as well which forces a frantic pass and TO.
Beyond the versatile defense Rudy displayed, his deflections, tip outs and rebounding were other integral parts of the Wolves D. At times Rudy had the same or nearly same amount of rebounds as the entire Suns team.
For a man often accused of being played off the court, it is ironic that Gobert's perimeter defense and steal on KD (which led to a transition dunk) was the final straw that prompted Vogel to play the Suns starters off the court.
