Rudy Gobert found himself at the wrong end of internet slander this week after the Timberwolves lost Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. On Saturday, Shaquille O’Neal was the latest to go viral for his dig at Gobert which came in the form of a courtside video as it was all going down.
“Ohhhh,” said Shaq in the crowd. “The 7’5″ guy got his dunk blocked, impressive!”
Shaq didn’t hold back on this Gobert dunk attempt 😅 https://t.co/U6qrbuD5q2
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 25, 2024
Gobert finished with 16 points in the game but faced fierce resistance all night as he battled under the rim against Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington. That particular play was the defining moment of the game and it sent a message to the Timberwolves that they weren’t the only ones capable of showing elite defense. For Gobert in particular, it just hasn’t been his series so far and the Mavericks aren’t making life any easier for him.
While Rudy was not the determining factor in the game, the Mavericks were hunting him down the stretch to abuse mismatches and expose his flaws on the perimeter. Now, down, 2-0, he’s become the main scapegoat for the Timberwolves’ ongoing collapse.
But the narrative on Gobert is hardly new. Well-respected hoopers like Draymond Green and Shaquille O’Neal have been trolling Gobert for years, dating back to when he signed his first big contract with the Utah Jazz. He’s a 4x Defensive Player of the Year and will go down as one of the greatest defensive bigs in NBA history and his career will also go down as one of the most controversial. If Gobert is unable to help his team to victory in this series, he will be the one who gets the most heat this offseason and his legacy may never truly recover.
Legacies Are At Stake For The Minnesota Timberwolves
With Anthony Edwards leading the way, the Timberwolves are still relatively new to the scene and they were underdogs in every series leading up to the Conference Finals. But for a franchise with such a limited record of playoff success, this year has a chance to become something historic.
For Gobert, the hate and scrutiny for him has been on another level lately, and there is some resentment for how much money and acknowledgment he’s earned over the years. It’s no secret that Luka Doncic was calling him out for that final shot in Game 2 and it put the Defensive Player of the Year on the receiving end of a game-winner. To go out like that would be brutal for Gobert and it would validate everything Draymond and O’Neal have been saying.
Anthony Edwards is also fighting for his reputation. He set the league on fire in the first two rounds and set the bar high by leading the Timberwolves to the Western Conference Finals. But for the past five games, Edwards has been in a major slump shooting just 33% from the field in that stretch.
The series is far from over for the Timberwolves but they will need more from their core players to make a comeback and rally. After dropping their first two games at home, they’ll have to win twice on the road in Dallas and Edwards will have to make more shots. More importantly than anything, Rudy Gobert needs to be better at keeping up with Luka or he may get played off the floor and hear even more chipping from his biggest naysayers.
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