Hungry Minnesota Timberwolves Rudy Gobert returns for Game 2 vs Nuggets

When the Minnesota Timberwolves internally disciplined center Rudy Gobert with a one-game suspension just before the Timberwolves faced the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the NBA Play-In Tournament, almost everyone believed that his absence, combined with the broken-handed absence of small forward Jaden McDaniels, would lead to a lopsided rout of the Wolves.

But that game was far closer than all but a few optimistic sorts expected. So why do I believe that Rudy Gobert can show up for Game 2 and help his teammates and the Minnesota Timberwolves turn this thing around?

Simply this, it sure as hell beats sitting at home watching the NBA Playoffs proceed without him competing. And that point was driven home as he had to sit out the game that his teammates played in Los Angeles in Game 1 of the NBA Play-In Tournament,

Gobert does not want to sit and watch the NBA Playoffs from the comfort of his living room.

Worst-trade narratives were written before the 2022-23 NBA season started

There has been a lot of chatter recently about the Minnesota Timberwolves getting railroaded in the trade in which the Timberwolves acquired Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz. Those narratives were written moments after the Minnesota Timberwolves sent five players and four draft picks to the Utah Jazz. With each day of NBA news that has some negative story about Rudy Gobert, those stories show up with a new date and a word changed here or there, but the story is always the same.

But what of the impact that Gobert is making on the entire Timberwolves roster? What about the effect that a veteran like Rudy Gobert has had already on the careers of Jaden McDaniels, Anthony Edwards, Naz Reid, and even on Karl-Anthony Towns?

Of course, the litmus test for the Gobert trade will be how Gobert plays. So far, he has been struggling with back spasms that have plagued him since the final game of the season against the New Orleans Pelicans on April 9, 2023, ten days ago. Those spasms are finally starting to subside, which means that we may see a bit of the traditional rim-protecting form from Gobert in Game 2.

While the Minnesota Timberwolves came out of Game 1 on the short end of the scoreboard, the team has a second chance to claim a win and head back to Target Center with the series split 1-1. A year ago, the Timberwolves opened the series with the Memphis Grizzlies with an upset victory but proceeded to lose four of the next five games.

While that does not mean that the Timberwolves have an easy path to winning this series, it does mean that teams that fall in the opener are capable of getting back into the driver’s seat by stringing together a couple of victories.

Few expected the Timberwolves to make the NBA Playoffs in the first place. Next to nobody expects the Timberwolves to compete in this series. But the Timberwolves have one thing going for them. Center Rudy Gobert does not like to sit at home and watch the NBA Playoffs, and he just got reminded of that fact.