KAT-less, Timberwolves Russell must involve Rudy Gobert on offense

I was curious how the Minnesota Timberwolves might look in the absence of All-Star PF/C Karl-Anthony Towns. Not only is Towns one of the team’s leading scorers, but he is the runner-up in both rebounding and dishing out assists. And those assists frequently came as a result of KAT driving to the basket, pulling defenders to him, and then passing to a wide-open Rudy Gobert for an easy basket.

But without KAT making those assists, the question loomed largely. Who would get Gobert involved in the Minnesota Timberwolves offense?

By rights, that person should absolutely be PG D’Angelo Russell. But in the first 12 minutes of play, Rudy Gobert had not scored a single point against the Memphis Grizzlies. In fact, he had not even attempted a single shot.  He had no rebounds or blocks either.

By halftime, Gobert has scored just one point, scoring on just one of two free throws. Of 24 minutes of regulation play, the Timberwolves had Gobert on the basketball court for just eight of those minutes.

Gobert’s first field goal of the night came from a driving dunk at the 8:00 mark of the third quarter. And that came from a D’Angelo Russell assist. That score put the Minnesota Timberwolves up by three points with a score of 55-52, over their nemesis, the Memphis Grizzlies.

By the end of the game, Rudy Gobert had scored just nine points, had one rebound, one steal, and finally just one block. Of his four field goals, three were courtesy of D’Angelo Russell’s assists, while the fourth came thanks to an assist from Kyle Anderson.

The top scorer of the night was Minnesota Timberwolves SG Anthony Edwards, who led all scoring with 29 points. But SG Jaylen Nowell tied Memphis Grizzlies PG Ja Morant for runner-up scorer, coming off the bench to put up 24 points.

By night’s end, the Minnesota Timberwolves shocked the Memphis Grizzlies by a final score of 109-101.  That win was a solid team effort by a Timberwolves roster that has been scrambling for something positive this season.  But if the Minnesota Timberwolves want more of the same, the team must improve the ability of PG D’Angelo Russell to get C Rudy Gobert involved in the offense.