The Rudy Gobert Experiment: Did Minnesota Make A Major Mistake?
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The Minnesota Timberwolves pulled off one of the offseason’s biggest moves by trading for three-time All-Star and three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.
Now though looking back on this deal, the Timberwolves may have made a grave mistake.
There is still a whole lot of basketball yet to be played in Minnesota this season and the Timberwolves still have plenty of time to figure things out, but will we be looking at yet another “too little, too late” scenario for this organization?
When they made the move for Gobert, many believed that Minnesota had put themselves in a position to have the best frontcourt in the league and as a result, have one of the best defensive units in the league.
Well, Anthony Edwards’ numbers have slightly increased from a season ago, D’Angelo Russell’s numbers have increased because of his availability and Karl-Anthony Towns is basically the same player.
The problem though with the Timberwolves right now is the fact that Rudy Gobert, the player that they gave up five players and five draft picks for, still looks lost and trying to fit in with this group.
At the 20-game mark and basically a quarter of the way through the season, this is not what Minnesota wanted and there is definitely a cause for concern for this team and their future right now.
Gobert remains a liability offensively, he has not fit in alongside Towns in the frontcourt and as a whole, the Timberwolves really have not changed much in order to try and get the most out of their new addition.
As things stand right now, the Timberwolves are 10-10, they rank 20th in offensive rating and 14th in defensive rating. They are not bad per se, but this team has a long ways to go if they are to be relevant in the Western Conference and moving forward, Gobert’s lack of consistency is definitely a long-term concern.
After a recent five-game win streak, four wins coming on the road, it seemed like Minnesota was beginning to turn things around, but they have now lost two straight games, most recently on Sunday to the Golden State Warriors, a game in which Minnesota was embarrassed defensively.
Golden State exploited the Timberwolves’ weaknesses defensively out on the perimeter and despite having both Towns and Gobert on the interior, the Warriors still managed to outscore them 50-44 in the paint.
To make matters even worse, the Warriors outrebounded the Timberwolves 47-31.
The tallest player to step into the game for Golden State was Kevon Looney, who is 6-foot-9. Minnesota had five different players in this game step foot on the floor who are 6-9 or taller, including both Towns and Gobert.
“Our identity right now is super inconsistent. Very Jekyll and Hyde,” head coach Chris Finch said after the team’s loss to Golden State. “We’re not as physical or as tough as I’d like us to be. I think that’s something we have to try to find.”
Physically, the Timberwolves were beaten on either end of the floor in Sunday’s game and their identity remains a question mark.
Is Rudy Gobert the answer for them on the interior alongside Karl-Anthony Towns and what kind of teams will they be moving forward? Will this group show a willingness to improve as a rebounding team, something they were not great at a season ago?
These are key questions we need answers to and right now, it seems like Minnesota does not have any of the answers.
“If we are going to play (big), we’ve got to dominate in the paint,” veteran Austin Rivers said. “If we’re going to play big, we’ve got to be big. Their big man was Draymond today. If we’re going to continue to play that way, we’ve got to find ways to get better at it.
“It’s early, but at the same time, it’s not. It’s getting to the point where a lot of games are coming by now, so we’ll just continue getting better.”
The emphasis to get better for the Timberwolves moving forward needs to circulate around their big men in the paint, more specifically Rudy Gobert.
Minnesota gave up their entire future, believing that Gobert would be the key to them getting an edge on championship-like teams in the Western Conference.
So far, Minnesota is 5-7 against other teams in the West and their best win based on their opponent’s total wins this season has been against Oklahoma City Thunder. They have lost to the Utah Jazz, the Phoenix Suns, the Memphis Grizzlies and now the Golden State Warriors.
Rudy Gobert should not be taking all of the blame for the Timberwolves’ misfortunes early on this season, as the team as a whole needs to play better on both ends of the floor, but Gobert’s inability to change his style of play to better fit that of his team remains a massive “elephant in the room.”
A team like the Timberwolves, one that was built to be the strongest in the league on the interior, should have no problem dominating teams on a nightly basis in the paint and yet they got demolished by the Warriors, one of the league’s smallest teams, not just out on the perimeter, but in the paint as well.
Minnesota has all the size in the world and the presence that they have been looking for all of these years on the interior, but as of right now, the trade they made for Gobert this past offseason is looking worse and worse every day, especially given that the rebuilding Jazz are ahead of them in the standings.
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