Rudy Gobert's Impact Questioned by Fans as Wolves Eliminated By Nikola Jokić, Nuggets
An underwhelming season has come to a bitterly disappointing end in Minnesota as the Timberwolves fell 112-109 to the Denver Nuggets to cap a 4-1 first-round series loss to the Western Conference's top seed.
Minnesota entered this season with great expectations after adding three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz even though it traded the following for him: guards Patrick Beverley, Malik Beasley and Leandro Bolmaro, forward Jarred Vanderbilt, the draft rights to center (and eventual Rookie of the Year finalist) Walker Kessler, their four first-round picks and a first-round pick swap.
But the Timberwolves fought just to make the playoffs. Missing star big man Karl-Anthony Towns for 53 games to a Grade 3 right calf strain capped the team's regular-season ceiling, but this was still a rough campaign for a team that just never got it going.
They needed a win against the Oklahoma City Thunder in a do-or-die play-in game just to get to the postseason after losing their first play-in game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
There are multiple reasons for the team's struggles, but one of them is that Gobert simply hasn't panned out well in Minnesota thus far. A full offseason plus more time to work with his teammates could certainly help matters in 2023-24, but this game showcased some issues.
Namely, the big man couldn't come up big on the glass or on defense when needed most. Denver had twice as many offensive rebounds as Minnesota (16 to eight).
Aaron Gordon grabbed one of them after Gobert couldn't box him out before dishing a pass to Michael Porter Jr. for a three-pointer and a 100-96 lead. Gordon later hit a tough bucket over Gobert for his team's next points.
Nikola Jokić also got two more boards before a tipped layup to give his team the lead for good at 106-104. He ended the game with a 28-point, 17-rebound, 12-assist triple-double.
The T-Wolves stuck around and even had a chance to tie in the final seconds, but an Anthony Edwards three hit the back rim.
Gobert stuffed the stat sheet in his own right (16 points, 15 rebounds), but it was a tough ending for him in a tougher season. Twitter voiced its opinion on his performance.
As for Denver, the Nuggets will now advance to the Western Conference semifinals for the third time in four seasons.
