The Timberwolves went 13-4 over their final 17 games of the regular season in the spring, with Rudy Gobert serving as a major reason why.
The French center averaged 15.4 points and 12.5 rebounds in that span. Zero in on the final 10 games, and those numbers balloon to 18.8 points and 14.9 rebounds in 36.4 minutes.
Minnesota’s success largely centered on its man in the middle.
Then came the playoffs, and everything changed. With one massive exception — Gobert’s 27 point, 24 rebound performance in Minnesota’s decisive Game 5 victory in Round 1 against the Lakers — the big man was largely an afterthought in the postseason.
He played 30-plus minutes in just two of Minnesota’s 15 playoff games. He scored in double figures just thrice and had double-digit rebounds only four times.
That’s not even to say Gobert was ineffective. In fact, he sported Minnesota’s best net rating in the West Finals, with the Wolves out-scoring the Thunder by five points per 100 possessions when the center was on the floor.
It didn’t matter. By that point, Minnesota was firmly leaning into more offense-first lineups that worked effectively in earlier playoff matchups in which the Wolves had a large talent advantage. Gobert didn’t fit that script. Come the postseason, teams chronically ignore the center, knowing Anthony Edwards and the Wolves won’t find him enough to make them pay for the tactical decision.
It was far easier for Minnesota to put in five scoring threats to simplify the reads for the likes of Edwards and Julius Randle.
While Gobert is a grand ceiling raiser for Minnesota, his role in the grand scheme of the 2024-25 season more closely resembled an innings eater than a high-leverage closer. The Gobert-heavy identity Minnesota formed late in the regular season was seemingly null and void, though Finch disputes as much.
“I think the identity of the team is a little more multi-faceted than that. Certainly, Rudy is a big part of what we do and when he’s playing at a high level like he did the last 20, 30 games, it makes all the difference,” Finch said. “We need him to do that for the whole 82, irrespective of what happens in the playoffs.”
Finch cited Oklahoma City as an example of a team that changed the roles of players throughout its rotation depending on matchups, noting the minutes for Thunder Isaiah Hartenstein fluctuated. Hartenstein was invaluable for the Thunder in the conference semifinal victory over Denver, and dispensable at other points in the postseason.
“They’re extremely flexible in their approach on what the series is dictating from them,” Finch.
Of course, when Hartenstein wasn’t on the floor, Oklahoma City was still thriving. That wasn’t the case for Minnesota in the West Finals, as the Wolves were wiped off the floor when Gobert wasn’t out there.
But it seemed the Wolves had already determined they couldn’t score on that stage if Gobert was on the court. And yet the version of the Wolves without him proved in that matchup that it was not a title-tier team and was better suited to beat up lesser foes.
The question facing Minnesota this season is do you attempt to better integrate Gobert into the offense so it can succeed regardless of the looks provided by the opposing defense? Gobert has mentioned the need to be more decisive, aggressive and poised with the ball in the middle of the floor so teammates trust him in those situations. Randle noted he understands Gobert’s offensive game better now. Time and chemistry could lead to incremental gains that may solve a few of the postseason problems.
But should the Wolves also put more of an emphasis on developing the non-Gobert lineups so those can be better prepared when they’re thrust into high-leverage playoff battles?
“I think you probably get to enough different things in the regular season, I don’t think you have to make a seismic shift through the regular season to prepare yourself,” Finch said. “Right now, winning every game is so important. Finishing between sixth and third (in the West) can be a two-game spread. … Right now, we’re comfortable enough to go whatever direction we need to.”
0 Comments