Chris Finch sends message to Rudy Gobert amid rebounding woes

If Rudy Gobert was listening and is open to criticism, there's a pretty good chance the 7-footer's rebounding numbers are going to increase.

Gobert appeared to be responsible for failing to block out Andrew Wigginsn on a missed free throw with 10 seconds left in Minnesota's 116-115 loss to the Warriors. Payton, with the Warriors leading 114-112, missed the second of his two free throws and had Minnesota secured the rebound they would've had a chance to tie or win the game. Instead, Wiggins was free for the board and he got the ball to Steph Curry, who sealed the game with two more free throws.

After the game, head coach Chris Finch noted that the game was really lost in the first quarter when Golden State outscored Minnesota 34-12. But the game was within reach when Gobert, whose rebounding numbers are way down this season, failed to do his job.

"I think Rudy's gotta go get the ball in the air. He's trying to play a hand-to-hand combat game and he gets tied up too much doing that. He does get fouled quite a bit down there doing that, but it's really a hard one because you don't know who's initiated that. I'd like to see him go get the ball in the air, snag it," Finch said.

Rebounding has been an issue all season for the Wolves. One would think that Gobert's rebounding numbers would increase with Karl-Anthony Towns now in New York, but he's actually seen his rebounding average drop from 12.9 per game last season to 10.5 per game this season. And it's not because Julius Randle is scooping up boards. In fact, Randle's rebounding numbers are also down this season, going from 9.2 per game last season to 7.1 this season.

The advanced stats reveal Gobert's rebounding decline.

According to Basketball Reference, Gobert's total rebound percentage — the number of rebounds he gets when he's on the floor — is at 17.5% this season. That's a big drop from his first two seasons with the Timberwolves when he averaged 21.2% and 21.5% of all rebounds.

The advanced stats are most glaring when looking at his defensive rebounding percentage. It has dropped from 29% the last two seasons to 23% this season. And it's miles from his peak 36.3% in 2021-22 with the Utah Jazz.

What's the secret to improving on the glass? It might be as simple as emulating Donte DiVincenzo, who drew praise from Finch for his rebounding prowess after Wednesday's game.

"He goes and gets the ball in the air. That's the key of rebounding. You gotta go get it in the air," Finch said. "We wait for it to come to us too much."