Outside of Anthony Edwards' knee injury, the biggest story in Minnesota Timberwolves land this week has been Rudy Gobert's offensive struggles. In the past two games, he's 0-for-13 from the field, and in the young season, he's shooting just 37 percent from the field. When asked about his struggles, Chris Finch gave an honest and accurate answer.
“I don't see a lot of extension. I see a lot of short arms, a lot of flips, a lot of like kind of finesse shots around there, " Finch said. "I think he just needs, you know, more extension, more you know, more pat, more — just try to dunk more stuff, honestly. And, you know, trying to, he's trying to play off contact in the wrong way, you know, so, that's, to me, that's it.”
Finch is exactly right: Gobert isn't finishing with enough power. His apathy toward dunking and physicality is at the core of these issues. At 7-foot-1 with limited touch around the rim, Gobert scores the most when he dunks. That's his forte, and he needs to get back to it. In fact, 43 percent of his field goal attempts were dunks last season, and that number is down to 18.5 percent.
Even on layups, he's not finishing strong enough. He's going up soft, and avoiding contact. As Gobert tries to right the ship, this is the honest message he needs to hear from his head coach.
Chris Finch's message about Rudy Gobert can help him get back on track
It can't be emphasized enough how important it is for Gobert to get back on track. The Wolves are essentially playing four-on-five when he's on the court. Gobert is essential to the Timberwolves' roster construction given his defense and their lack of traditional frontcourt size. Unfortunately, the issues for Gobert haven't just been on the offensive end of the ball.
In the Golden State Warriors game on Wednesday, Gobert let his offense impact his defense, as he had some uncharacteristic lapses and struggled to rebound. Simply put, the Wolves need more from Gobert on both ends of the floor, particularly without Edwards.
To accomplish this goal, being honest about his struggles and challenging Gobert is vital.
That's why I supported his teammates calling him out on the sidelines on Wednesday. Frankly, there's nothing good that will come from coddling Rudy. At the same time, there's nothing wrong with sending him an honest message.
Gobert also responds well to being held accountable. Early last season, Finch called out Gobert for his defense, and he responded by playing at a Defensive Player of the Year level for the rest of the season. Gobert also knows that he needs to be better and admitted he needs to dunk more.
“Sometimes I tell myself why didn’t I dunk that, too. I guess it depends. I guess, most importantly, is to react, to be decisive.," Gobert said. "To be strong and to be decisive. If I’m going to go dunk it, go dunk it. If they foul me and call it, it is how it is, but I gotta be more decisive and more balanced, more poised."
The Timberwolves need more from Gobert. He knows it. Finch knows it. And everyone watching the games knows it. To solve this problem, though, it first needs to be addressed, and a public message from his head coach is exactly what Gobert needs. His own accountability is super encouraging as well.
I understand that some fans might be ready to write Gobert off, given that he now has an elite playmaker and is 34 years old. Despite him never being a force on offense, Gobert has scored 10-plus points in the last 10 seasons. Leading the league in field goal percentage in four of these seasons.
In other words, there's a path for Gobert to be an offensive threat. He just needs to play with more power instead of finesse.
It's a fixable problem, and Finch's assessment is spot on. Hopefully, Gobert can respond to Finch's challenge for the second straight year.
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