How Much Can Rudy Gobert Cover Up for Timberwolves This Season?

When Rudy Gobert was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2022, the narrative was out on him.

"He gets played off the floor in important situations!"

The Jazz would always seem to put up solid defensive numbers during the regular season with Gobert, but come the playoffs and other teams to having more concentrated time scouting on them, they would prove to be picked apart when it came time to play more meaningful basketball.

Mike Conley, Rudy Gobert, Joe Ingles and the Utah Jazz were up 3-1 on Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets in the 2020 playoffs. But Denver came all the way back to tie the series at 3-3. And then in Game 7...

With 30 seconds to go, the score was tied 78-78, when… pic.twitter.com/xoSIiwvtUP
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) April 27, 2026

Part of it had to do with the overall decline in defensive personnel around him. It also stemmed from Gobert having more on his plate than an NBA center should have; from a perimeter defense standpoint in being the low man, rebounding for a group that didn't have others as willing, and working within an offense that didn't have the necessary athleticism to move defenses around.

With LaMelo Ball now in the fold and Julius Randle and Naz Reid out, the Wolves find themselves to not only be smaller group, but they could end up in trouble from a defensive standpoint, too.

So, will this be a similar story to how things would end up going for Rudy with the Jazz, or will his additional responsibility this coming season still be conducive to winning games?

Rudy Gobert in familiar territory with added pressure on defense after Wolves' changes

To get it out of the way, the Timberwolves lineup is notably more talented than what the Jazz had on the floor around Gobert, while also being substantially more athletic. Their ability to move defenses and slash the paint offensively will certainly be a continued plus. Additionally, with Ball in the fold, Gobert will benefit from a dynamic playmaker eager to throw alley-oops and spray the ball around the floor.

The issue comes defensively from a Wolves group that shapes up to be slightly undersized. It would be fair to guess that teams will attempt to attack the rim and get Gobert in foul trouble, and attempt to work their way down the frontcourt pecking order in games.

In Charlotte last season, the Hornets were 7% better in defensive rebounding percentage from shots that came at the rim. The Hornets were also roughly 3% better in overall rebounding percentage on missed twos with LaMelo off the floor. Many of these stats seem negligible, but can compound over the course of the regular season.

On the other side of the coin, Charlotte ranked higher than the Wolves last season in contested rebounding percentage, a relatively embarrassing fact with Minnesota playing a traditional frontcourt and having strong wings that are more than capable of bringing the ball down.

Teams would often have on scouting reports last season that the Wolves would be lackadaisical in crashing the boards, and would send numbers there in order to overwhelm Gobert, or grab the ball from a smaller backup frontcourt with Naz Reid and Julius Randle.

There are plenty of things Ball does from an eye test standpoint that get him hunted defensively. He gets hung up on screens pretty easily, and doesn't have a strong presence on the ball when attackers are coming downhill—all things that Gobert will have to help clean up.

But his advanced numbers alongside Moussa Diabate are not prohibitive (113 defensive rating together), and with enough time spent alongside Rudy, he might be able to become a net-neutral and use his length to generate turnovers.

Lamelo Ball Defense Tape 3/15 vs MIA
- Roughly 11 pts allowed
- 2 Stocks
- 40 Mins
My Grade: C

How do you grade his defense last night? pic.twitter.com/3Sz7y3yXIa
— Hoopology (@hoopologyxx) April 15, 2026

The other piece comes from Jaden McDaniels playing in the power forward spot. Flashing from a rebound perspective, McDaniels never quite has been able to do be a consistent player on the glass.

Guarding the best player on the opposite team on a nightly basis, he hasn't really had the bandwidth to be able to. His move to the power forward spot is a gamble on that, but also an assurance that he'll be able to make the move from guarding wings to players that have size on him.

McDaniels has often struggled with that. Zion Williams and Luka Doncic often draw him as their initial defender, and he switches off of them throughout the course of the game because of their strength advantage.

Is that also something where Gobert picks up half of an assignment to be a helpside defender, while also making sure he's securing rebounds and preventing the opposite center from scoring?

There are a lot of bets being being made heading into the season. In Utah, what ultimately prevented Gobert from "staying on the floor" was drawing multiple assignments that brought him further away from what he was elite at.

Heading into the season, if the aforementioned Wolves bets pay off, that won't be an issue. If even a couple of them don't, there could be an ulimate ceiling on this team similar to Gobert's.

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