– After his best game in a Timberwolves uniform, Gobert was forthright in his assessment of how things have gone to this point. He knows much of the league believes the Wolves made a grievous error by paying the high price to get him from the Utah Jazz. He knows there have been frustrations internally during a painstaking acclimation process between Gobert and his teammates. On Friday night, after crushing the short-handed Los Angeles Clippers with 25 points, 21 rebounds and three blocks in a 128-115 win, Gobert took ownership of his slow start in a refreshingly candid depiction of what has been a jagged union.
– “I don’t think we’ve seen the best Rudy yet,” Gobert said. “I’ve been putting in a lot of work. My teammates are sticking with me. The coaching staff is sticking with me. And I know that it’s going to pay off.”
– There have been times this season where he has looked nothing like the three-time Defensive Player of the Year and one of the most efficient offensive players the league has seen. His stats are down significantly across the board, and it begs the question of why
– In each of the last three games, all wins for the Timberwolves, Gobert has started to show more of the player the team thought it was getting last summer. He played a big role defensively on Monday in a win over the Nuggets, then put up 17 points and 12 rebounds in a win over Portland on Wednesday. He has blocked 14 shots in the last five games, good for a 2.8 average that is well ahead of his career average of 2.2.
– “I think a lot of it is just me playing with more force than I’ve done earlier in the season,” Gobert said. “A lot of it is the way we play by moving the ball. Those last three games, I think the best stretch we’ve had just moving it and sharing it.”
– Clippers center Ivica Zubac is one of the more underrated bigs in the league, but the Timberwolves went right at him from the jump. Three of their first four possessions went to Gobert in the paint, and he scored on a lob from Anderson, and started drawing fouls to put the Clippers in a bind early. The Wolves were in the penalty with 8:44 to play in the first quarter.
– In the fourth quarter, Gobert grabbed a rebound and surged up the court, attempting a coast-to-coast move that fell apart when he missed the layup. Both Edwards and Towns playfully jabbed him saying that he should’ve dunked the ball rather than go for a layup. All Gobert could do was smile.
– “I was having fun, but I’m going to think about it all night,” Gobert said. “I should have dunked it.”
– Whereas Gobert’s mistakes earlier in the season led to handwringing from players as they wondered where the All-Star version of No. 27 was, Rudy’s errors on Friday night were notable in how easily they were dismissed.
– It sounds so easy, but for much of the season it has looked so hard. Then there they were in the fourth quarter trying to salt the game away, Gobert and Russell walking to the bench during a Timberwolves timeout. Russell took him through a set he wanted to run out of the timeout, a side pick-and-roll that ended with a slick lob to Gobert in traffic.
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Some snippets from the article:
– After his best game in a Timberwolves uniform, Gobert was forthright in his assessment of how things have gone to this point. He knows much of the league believes the Wolves made a grievous error by paying the high price to get him from the Utah Jazz. He knows there have been frustrations internally during a painstaking acclimation process between Gobert and his teammates. On Friday night, after crushing the short-handed Los Angeles Clippers with 25 points, 21 rebounds and three blocks in a 128-115 win, Gobert took ownership of his slow start in a refreshingly candid depiction of what has been a jagged union.
– “I don’t think we’ve seen the best Rudy yet,” Gobert said. “I’ve been putting in a lot of work. My teammates are sticking with me. The coaching staff is sticking with me. And I know that it’s going to pay off.”
– There have been times this season where he has looked nothing like the three-time Defensive Player of the Year and one of the most efficient offensive players the league has seen. His stats are down significantly across the board, and it begs the question of why
– In each of the last three games, all wins for the Timberwolves, Gobert has started to show more of the player the team thought it was getting last summer. He played a big role defensively on Monday in a win over the Nuggets, then put up 17 points and 12 rebounds in a win over Portland on Wednesday. He has blocked 14 shots in the last five games, good for a 2.8 average that is well ahead of his career average of 2.2.
– “I think a lot of it is just me playing with more force than I’ve done earlier in the season,” Gobert said. “A lot of it is the way we play by moving the ball. Those last three games, I think the best stretch we’ve had just moving it and sharing it.”
– Clippers center Ivica Zubac is one of the more underrated bigs in the league, but the Timberwolves went right at him from the jump. Three of their first four possessions went to Gobert in the paint, and he scored on a lob from Anderson, and started drawing fouls to put the Clippers in a bind early. The Wolves were in the penalty with 8:44 to play in the first quarter.
– In the fourth quarter, Gobert grabbed a rebound and surged up the court, attempting a coast-to-coast move that fell apart when he missed the layup. Both Edwards and Towns playfully jabbed him saying that he should’ve dunked the ball rather than go for a layup. All Gobert could do was smile.
– “I was having fun, but I’m going to think about it all night,” Gobert said. “I should have dunked it.”
– Whereas Gobert’s mistakes earlier in the season led to handwringing from players as they wondered where the All-Star version of No. 27 was, Rudy’s errors on Friday night were notable in how easily they were dismissed.
– It sounds so easy, but for much of the season it has looked so hard. Then there they were in the fourth quarter trying to salt the game away, Gobert and Russell walking to the bench during a Timberwolves timeout. Russell took him through a set he wanted to run out of the timeout, a side pick-and-roll that ended with a slick lob to Gobert in traffic.
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