The Minnesota Timberwolves have officially completed what was supposed to be the “easy” start to their season with mediocre results at best. 4-3 isn’t the worst outcome possible, especially considering two teams they’ve lost to have been better than everyone expected. Led by breakout star Lauri Markkanen, the Utah Jazz are surprisingly 6-2. They have also beaten several good teams, including the Memphis Grizzlies twice, the Denver Nuggets, and the New Orleans Pelicans. The San Antonio Spurs have also proved to be scrappy, going 5-2, including wins over the Philadelphia 76ers and Chicago Bulls.
Still, the way the Timberwolves have lost the games has been more worry-inducing than their record indicates. The offense has had flashes of brilliance, with quick passes that have forced defenders to reckon with the massive amount of offensive talent coming from 4 out of 5 players in the starting lineup. However, whenever panic ensues during a game, the team often reverts to sticky isolation basketball and ill-advised three-point attempts early in the shot clock in lieu of getting into the offense or making a pass first.
The Wolves have looked similarly sludgy on defense. The team has been slow to adjust to their new defensive scheme after adding Rudy Gobert and has looked a little lost learning their new assignments. They’ve also had difficulty defending opponents in transition, which has led to many easy buckets. While growing pains are partly to blame, Chris Finch and some of the Wolves players also criticized the team’s lack of effort and conditioning early in the season.
But amidst all of the concerning early-season red flags, one thing has remained constant. Gobert has made a huge impact on the team. While the knee-jerk reaction may be to think that the trade didn’t work because the team is struggling. However, Rudy hasn’t been the problem. He may not be the flashiest player on the court because of his skill set, but Gobert has done everything the Wolves expected from him when they traded for him and more.
Watching Minnesota’s defensive sloppiness in their first three losses may have led you to believe they are a flat-out bad defensive team. But the stats disagree with the eye test. Despite their visible flaws, the Timberwolves currently rank sixth in defensive rating at 107.5 per NBA.com. Even more surprising at first glance? The Wolves rank third in opponent field goal percentage at 43%.
Once you zoom in, though, it becomes clear that Gobert is a major driving factor for this impressive number. Gobert’s main job on defense is to prevent easy shots around the rim and in the paint, and opponents have not shot well inside of his zone of coverage. Opponents are shooting a league-worst 54.4% within five feet of the rim against the Timberwolves, 1.7% worse than the next closest team. At five to nine feet from the rim, opponents are shooting the sixth-worst percentage against the Wolves, at just 34%. While other players certainly contribute to these low percentages when Gobert is off the court, they show that Rudy is doing his part to protect the areas he is responsible for in the 30+ minutes per game he plays.
Additionally, Gobert has been a rebounding machine so far this season. He currently leads the league in boards per game at 14.7, and he has already beefed twice with 21 and 23 rebound performances. In fact, Gobert has grabbed just under one-third of the Wolves’ total rebounds this season (103 out of 343).
However, possibly the most important thing Gobert has done so far this season is be consistent. A good player becomes great when they can perform at a high level consistently. A slightly unfair but stark depiction of this concept happened on the Cleveland Cavaliers the other day. Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert both scored 41 points in the same game against the Boston Celtics. In the game after, LeVert, a good but not great player, scored only 1 point. Meanwhile, Mitchell, an unquestionably great player, continued his hot streak with a 38-point performance.
Like his former teammate, Gobert is unquestionably great because of the consistency with which he executes his role. It may not always show in his box scores aside from rebounds, but a few advanced stats demonstrate the consistency with which Gobert contributes to winning. Win Shares are defined by Basketball Reference as “an estimate of the number of wins contributed by a player.” They can be separated into offensive and defensive Win Shares to better understand which end of the court a player contributes the most to winning. Gobert leads the Timberwolves in all three categories, Offensive, Defensive, and Total Win Shares. Additionally, Gobert is second on the team in Player Efficiency Rating at 20.2. He’s only behind Naz Reid, who has been on fire in the limited minutes he’s played.
Rudy is also a consistent scorer on offense, having led the league in field goal percentage three times in his nine full seasons, and has only shot under 60% in one season since his rookie year. He doesn’t take many shots outside of the paint, but he doesn’t have to have elite scoring efficiency for his position. Being able to rely on a player to get you 14 points a game off of mostly lobs and put-backs is not something the Wolves have had often in their history as a team, and it has been hugely helpful to them so far.
Of course, no one is perfect. Gobert has his struggles. His lack of offensive versatility or shooting ability often leaves him unable to take advantage of the height difference he has in mismatch situations unless he is close enough to the rim to dunk over someone. However, on a team with three starters who can all create their own shot and put up 30-plus points on any given night, the versatility of your fourth to fifth opinion on offense shouldn’t matter much if the team’s designated scorers are consistently doing their job.
Gobert has played great this season, and his consistency on both ends of the court has made him a huge factor in any success Minnesota has had this year.
