Rudy Gobert is still one of the best interior defenders in the NBA, and when he’s on the court, the Minnesota Timberwolves reap the rewards of that. But when he’s not on the court, their defense suffers, and they don’t have the right personnel to back him up.
“I think it’s the interior presence, not just Rudy,” Dane Moore said on The Kevin O’Connor Show. “When KAT was at the four, and you came into the lane, and Jalen was at the three, there was not space to breathe in there. And Kyle Anderson was actually really helpful there, too, and he’s like 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-3 wingspan, too.
“I think Julius Randle has actually surprised me as an isolation defender. He’s been better, and in post situations, than I expected in the year that he’s been here. But he is not a strong low-man presence. He does not have strong instincts in rotating over to the rim effectively and kind of taking up that space, or being a backup to Rudy when he’s in rotation there, even if Rudy is on the floor. So, this team just doesn’t have as good of defensive personnel as it did before.”
And if the Wolves just give up the leads they gained when Gobert was on the floor anchoring the defense, it puts them in a bad spot.
What’s wrong with the Rudy Gobert-less Wolves?
The trade Minnesota made for Gobert a few years ago was heavily criticized, but their defensive stature ever since cannot be denied. That’s just the effect Gobert has on a team.
But this year, with Karl-Anthony Towns another year removed, Nickeil Alexander-Walker gone, and other changes, their defense just hasn’t been as good, particularly when Gobert has been on the bench.
Through the Timberwolves' first four games of the season, they rank 27th in defensive rating with a 119.8. The only three teams with a worse mark than them are the Philadelphia 76ers, the Phoenix Suns, and the Brooklyn Nets.
But the numbers get even scarier when taking a look at the Wolves’ defense with and without Gobert on the court.
When Gobert is playing, the Wolves actually have a solid defense, clocking in at a 112.06 defensive rating. That number would rank 11th in the NBA.
However, while Gobert is on the bench, that number plummets to a 135.46 defensive rating, which would be the worst defensive rating by a team in a single season in NBA history.
Not ideal if you’re the Wolves. Not ideal at all.