The Minnesota Timberwolves won’t always match up against Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs. No one in the league can neutralize the 7-foot-4 alien, and he had his way on Saturday against Minnesota, scoring 43 points and blocking six shots.
Still, a concern heading into the season was who would man the middle if Rudy Gobert or Joan Beringer were forced to miss a game. That happened on Saturday, as Gobert sat out with back spasms.
That made Trey Lyles the backup center in Saturday’s loss. The soon-to-be 31-year-old isn’t a natural rim protector or a positive defender, and San Antonio took advantage.
Timberwolves will suffer if Lyles needs to play backup center minutes
Some Timberwolves fans probably didn’t mind Gobert sitting out Saturday. His offensive struggles this season have been well documented in the first six games, and it allowed Beringer to get his first start of the year.
The problem is that it took Beringer out of their bench unit. Now, Lyles has been part of Minnesota’s rotation all season, but he has mostly played alongside either Gobert or Beringer. That wasn’t the case Saturday.
San Antonio scored 20 points in the final 4:34 of the opening quarter after Lyles entered the game and Beringer came out. The Spurs made three shots in the paint during that stretch and also hit open threes after penetrating the lane.
San Antonio scored another 15 points in the final 5:23 of the third quarter after Beringer left with four fouls. Lyles stayed on the court for the rest of the quarter, and the Spurs once again had little trouble scoring.
Perhaps the biggest concern, though, was Minnesota getting dominated on the glass when Lyles played without Beringer. Most of Lyles’ playing time—14:19 of the 16:46 he played—came without Beringer also on the court. In those 14:19, the Spurs outrebounded the Timberwolves 18-8.
Both Gobert and Beringer are listed as 7-footers—Gobert is actually listed at 7-foot-1—so that height is lost with Lyles, who is 6-foot-9. Lyles is an adequate rebounder (although he didn't even grab one on Saturday), but Gobert is still one of the best in the game at grabbing misses. Beringer is off to a remarkable start this year in keeping possessions alive on the offensive glass.
Understandably, fans are frustrated with Gobert’s offensive play. Saturday showed, though, that the team will mostly suffer if Lyles needs to play backup big minutes. The rim protection will be gone, and it will be a challenge to keep up in rebounding.
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