If you read and believe all of the hot takes about the Minnesota Timberwolves roster on Twitter right now, some of the marginal NBA analysts and pundits have all but stuck a fork in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ chances of defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in their upcoming contest in the NBA Play-In Tournament. The Timberwolves will face the Lakers without backup center Naz Reid, and without starting center Rudy Gobert and small forward Jaden McDaniels.
While that is a lot of star power not suiting up in that very important game, the Timberwolves are being ruled out before the game is not played. That’s just not right.
You don’t awaken sleeping giants. But right now, that is the current sitrep (situation report) on Minnesota Timberwolves’ 7-foot-1 giant center Rudy Gobert. The final game of the 2022-23 NBA season against the New Orleans Pelicans woke up Gobert, and a heated exchange between himself and point forward Kyle Anderson took it one step further, as he was so pissed off that he took a swing at Anderson. He won’t be playing against the Lakers, but the emotions will spill over.
Yeah, I’m thinking the Timberwolves are back right now. As far as the Lakers are concerned, the timing is nearly perfect as Rudy Gobert will not get to face his former teammate and constant critic Los Angeles point guard D’Angelo Russell. Don’t believe any of the stories you may read in the time leading up to this game, as three things are clear:
- D’Angelo Russell made Rudy Gobert’s life hell on the Timberwolves roster.
- D’Angelo Russell was not traded out of spite or revenge. He did not fit the Timberwolves’ future.
- Rudy Gobert is pissed off right now, and D’Angelo Russell had every reason to fear him.
Here’s a thought. What if a pissed-off Rudy Gobert is the last thing the Los Angeles Lakers were hoping to face in their upcoming NBA Play-In Tournament? After all, we know that D’Angelo Russell had some bad blood with the Minnesota Timberwolves’ starting center, Rudy Gobert.
We also know that the Minnesota Timberwolves’ entire roster seemed to energize after Rudy Gobert’s haymaker. And we also know that a bully is deeply fearful of facing an upright, angry, and determined opponent.
Breaking: Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert isn’t traveling with team to LA and won’t play vs. the Lakers on Tuesday in the play-in tournament, sources tell @wojespn. pic.twitter.com/4FIWxHRczr
— ESPN (@espn) April 10, 2023
D’Angelo Russell bullied Rudy Gobert. There was no way that he wanted to play against C Rudy Gobert who was upright, angry, and very determined. Now he won’t have to do so. Problem solved for the Los Angeles Lakers, right?
Minnesota Timberwolves still matches up well with LA Lakers
No, this was never going to be a WWE cage match between D’Lo and Gobert. This is an upcoming NBA Play-In Tournament game involving a very determined Minnesota Timberwolves team facing a very hot Los Angeles Lakers team. But let’s do a quick dive:
next up: play-in pic.twitter.com/qoFBVPMjJ0
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) April 9, 2023
Since the NBA Trade Deadline, the Minnesota Timberwolves are 12-12, while the Los Angeles Lakers are 18-8.
Since the NBA Trade Deadline, the Los Angeles Lakers have played the third-easiest NBA schedule and are heavily favored in terms of playing at home. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Timberwolves faced one of the most difficult NBA schedules and played extensively on the road.
The Minnesota Timberwolves took the regular season series against the Los Angeles Lakers, winning their first two matchups before the Lakers claimed the final game to avoid being swept by the Timberwolves. It was that third game in which the Lakers, held in check offensively by the Timberwolves’ defense, that broke out in the third game. But a side story that did not get much press was the struggles that Anthony Edwards had against the Timberwolves in that final game. He’ll be ready to score this time around.
The Minnesota Timberwolves competed and defeated a healthy New Orleans Pelicans without full-game contributions from Rudy Gobert or Jaden McDaniels and without Naz Raid or Jaylen Nowell suiting up. With any luck, the Timberwolves will get Jaylen Nowell back and he will help shoulder some of the burdens from the Timberwolves’ depleted roster.
The Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the LA Clippers in last season’s NBA Play-In Tournament. Can the Timberwolves take out the other LA team in this season’s NBA Play-In Tournament? I think that they can. Now, this team simply needs to remain upright, angry, and determined to do so.