Rudy Gobert - Human Highlight Reel

Just a quick shout out to the Stifle Tower

The Lakers vs. Timberwolves series is not quite done, and LeBron and Luka have both been known to come from behind in the playoffs with a vengeance. But, as many have noted, it’s possible that Anthony Edwards and the Wolves will have defeated Kevin Durant/Devin Booker, Nikola Jokic, and Luka Doncic/LeBron James in just two playoffs. Then, if things keep going the way that it is now, they’ll have the opportunity to conquer Steph Curry accompanied by Draymond Green.

If you remember last year’s Game 7 of the second round in Denver, the Timberwolves outscored the Nuggets by 23 in the first half after being down by double digits to win a game 7 in the mile high city. After refreshing my memory, Anthony Edwards and KAT combined for 8/25 and 22 points, where as everyone else contributed with 28 points on 11/16 shooting in that second half. It was just a team of destiny.

Every comeback has a play that seems to symbolize it for the memory of the basketball world. In Utah in 2021 when the Jazz wet the bed versus the Kawhi-less Clippers, it was Terrance Mann dunking on Gobert. In this game, for Denver fans and everyone else, it has to be this:

Can we call it the Parisian Pirouette?

I’m an unabashed Rudy Gobert defender, and believe he gets quite a bit too much of the blame pie from most NBA fans when things go wrong. Sure, he isn’t Larry Fitzgerald in the lane, and he still can look like a 14 year old who is fresh off of a growth spurt running up the court. But against most teams, he makes the team better on defense and is worth keeping on the court and figuring out his offense.

Now, against these Lakers, it’s not a great matchup for him. They’re playing small ball (the only Laker center, Jaxson Hayes, is averaging 7.8 minutes per game), and the Timberwolves have better options than Gobert against the Lakers’ lineups than Gobert. One noticeable matchup is whenever Luka gets Rudy in a switch, and the eye test would suggest that Gobert is helpless in those moments.

However! As some have pointed out out there, here are Luka’s stats when being guarded by Gobert in 26.7 possessions:

• 5/14 shooting (35.7%)

• 1/7 from 3 (14.3%)

• 7/8 on FT’s from Gobert shooting fouls

• 5 assists compared to 6 turnovers

LeBron is less vindictive than Luka towards Gobert, but here are his stats in 15.4 possessions:

• 4/13 shooting (30.8%)

• 2/5 from 3 (40%)

• 2/2 on FT’s from Gobert shooting fouls

• 3 assists compared to 1 turnover

So, he’s doing his job in switches. Take a look at the Aisne Anomaly go!

Now, this isn’t to say that he’s the MVP of this series. The Timberwolves have a +8.7 net rating in total this series, but only a +1.0 net rating with him on the floor. But it’s fun to see the man in a context where (1) his teammates appreciate him and stand up for him, and (2) he’s not the bend-til-he-breaks defensive anchor that the Jazz made him out to be when he was there.

The big-picture question with him right now is, assuming they can take care of business, whether his rim protection will be enough of a positive in a potential Warriors matchup. Different from this current, patchwork iteration of the Lakers (who will likely make more sense next year with a full offseason), we know the Warriors unlock their offense when other teams leave the rim open (calling back to many years of annoying, yet effective, Draymond → Iguodala alley-oops). As always, time will tell.