Minnesota Timberwolves center back Rudy Gobert will miss Game 2 of the team’s Western Conference semifinals against the Denver Nuggets on Monday night after the birth of his first child, a baby boy, the morning before.
Head coach Chris Finch broke the news shortly before the game:
Chris Finch on Rudy Gobert: “He’s out. I may not be there. “pic. twitter. com/epTcSomQMu
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon first reported that the outlet would be questionable for the game.
The Timberwolves lead the series lately, 1-0.
Losing Gobert is a blow (albeit an understandable one, given the circumstances) for Wolves who oppose the protective champions. The ability to throw big bodies like Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid to Nikola Jokić gives Wolves a defensive advantage over most teams. , despite the fact that the all-time MVP still managed to rack up 32 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in Game 1.
But it wasn’t easy.
“To have a clone of me, and then it could be new when they replace another guy, I’ll be new,” Jokić said when asked how the Nuggets could take better care of the defensive line. The Wolves opposed him, according to Michael. Scotto of HoopsHype.
“I think that’s why they’re good,” he added. They can play big, they can play small. . . They’re long, they’re physical, they bounce very well, they’re aggressive. I’m satisfied with the shots I take. I took, some of them I lost, some I made. “
The 31-year-old Gobert had six points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks and a loan from Scouse in a 106-99 win.
A year ago, the Nuggets eliminated the Timberwolves in the first of the Western Conference playoffs in just five games.
But those Wolves are more experienced, deeper, have healthy Reid (he missed last season’s series with a broken left wrist) and have benefited from the continued progression of 22-year-old superstar Anthony Edwards, who is averaging 33. 4 playoff series issues. Games.
The Nuggets are about to die without a fight, and Gobert’s absence in Game 2 would make the Wolves much less intimidating defensively. But those wolves seem ready to control the protective champions primarily in this series.