Is Minnesota better without Gobert?

[cdubbz]

He hurts them against Denver and the series wouldn't be tied if he never came back.

There. I said it.

Makes you wonder how much of a fraud he is that hes hurting them in a matchup where the opposing team has the Mvp at his own position...........

It's like when Mutumbo won DPOY and played against Shaq .

[liquidswords]

In a game like last night's, Yes. The Wolves couldn't get a stop in the 4th and also had trouble converting on offense. They should have went with KAT and Naz to try to generate some more offense.

[dockingsched]

Jokic against defenders in game 4 :

9pts against Gobert (5 of them because Gobert had to go help his teammate)

12pts against KAT

4pts against Reid

4pts against Edwards

So Jokic has scored 4 points one on one against Gobert. But it’s Gobert's fault !!!!

I don’t think the argument is that he’s not doing his job.

I think the argument is that the dip on defense without Gobert would be worth the gain on offense with someone else.

[shrink]

Best +/- on the court tonight among all starters on both teams. Thoroughly outplayed Jokic and got him in foul trouble. He's the 4 time DPOY for a reason.

I've seen Gobert stans unironically citing his plus minus as if single-game +/- isn't wildly unpredictable

It is. But it's also pretty funny when a guy's team out scores the other by 9 points when they play. And they get out scored by 16 with them off the court. That the argument is...well that players is the reason they lost.

Also this isn't a single game thing.

Game 1 +12 on -5 off
Game 3 -10 on -17 off
Game 4 +9 on -17 off

The guys has his faults as does anyone else, but if there were something to he shouldn't be playing. I think we'd start to see something. Instead of have a decade long career of his teams being better with him on the court and fans/players alike continuing to try and find some fault with him.

Gobert’s on/off is particularly surprising when the guy that replaces him is the Sixth Man of the Year.

[ConSarnit]

Jokic against defenders in game 4 :

9pts against Gobert (5 of them because Gobert had to go help his teammate)

12pts against KAT

4pts against Reid

4pts against Edwards

So Jokic has scored 4 points one on one against Gobert. But it’s Gobert's fault !!!!

I don’t think the argument is that he’s not doing his job.

I think the argument is that the dip on defense without Gobert would be worth the gain on offense with someone else.

If I were MIN I would rest Gobert somewhat early and roll with Towns and Naz to test a theory: if I make Jokic work hard on the defensive end is that going to help slow him down offensively?

Jokic did not look good defending the Lebron/AD pnr. I would try to spam that with Towns or Reid in an attempt to wear Jokic down on the defensive end. I think one of the few ways to target Jokic is to make him work hard on defense. More Towns + Reid minutes could accomplish that.

It’s possible Jokic has just figured out the Wolves because he’s a basketball genius but I’d try to put the screws to him on defense and see if that slows him on the offensive end.

[dhsilv2]

I've seen Gobert stans unironically citing his plus minus as if single-game +/- isn't wildly unpredictable

It is. But it's also pretty funny when a guy's team out scores the other by 9 points when they play. And they get out scored by 16 with them off the court. That the argument is...well that players is the reason they lost.

Also this isn't a single game thing.

Game 1 +12 on -5 off
Game 3 -10 on -17 off
Game 4 +9 on -17 off

The guys has his faults as does anyone else, but if there were something to he shouldn't be playing. I think we'd start to see something. Instead of have a decade long career of his teams being better with him on the court and fans/players alike continuing to try and find some fault with him.

Gobert’s on/off is particularly surprising when the guy that replaces him is the Sixth Man of the Year.

Check out his playoff on off this year...despite sitting the game they blew the nuggets out. It's staggering. +15.9 on -5.0 off. Net +20.9

Now no doubt Edwards and Gobert play most of Goberts minutes together.

[dhsilv2]

Jokic against defenders in game 4 :

9pts against Gobert (5 of them because Gobert had to go help his teammate)

12pts against KAT

4pts against Reid

4pts against Edwards

So Jokic has scored 4 points one on one against Gobert. But it’s Gobert's fault !!!!

I don’t think the argument is that he’s not doing his job.

I think the argument is that the dip on defense without Gobert would be worth the gain on offense with someone else.

They only scored 106 points in each of their two wins.

[bstein14]

The thing with Gobert against Jokic is Jokic is an all-time great passer. They are putting KAT on Jokic most of the time and when Gobert does play help side defense Jokic often times punishes him. Jokic is the GOAT at passing out of a double team and the more he plays against Gobert the better he's getting at making the right moves.

Gobert is big and strong and long and physical but Jokic has consistently picked the Wolves apart like he does against most any team

Wolves got games 1 and 2 in large part because they played a crazy intense... balls to the wall... defense and were super active on that end and the Nuggets have adjusted a bit while the Wolves also might not be able to sustain that type of defense for 7 straight games.

[Meeksology]

If something is going to happen NO MATTER WHAT, you just capitulate? Also, you don't know that, you're straight making it up. Public health is not a weird thing. Imagine how many walls and aircraft carriers we could build if we didn't have to spend so much on healthcare/insurance because of dumbasses like well...You figure it out, if you can.

What exactly do you not like that Gobert did though? I'm guessing it was the interview where he touched all the microphones with his hands?! That is what upset you or was it something else? That is the only thing i know he did that upset people so just asking. I'm asking because it would clear things up.

"if he had the virus"?

He had COVID-19 at that point, tested positive just 2 days later. That interview was in Detroit, where I'm from.
At a heightened level of "spook", Gobert acted like a jackass on my home court, maybe threatened some lives.
The NBA shut down right after. It was very likely to do, but Gobert's antics were the poster child for stupid.

So nope, I'm not a fan.

I can appreciate someone's game without being a fan because their antics define them as a crap human being.
I'll always root against the likes of Karl Malone, Ron Artest, Miles Bridges, Eddie Johnson Jr, Ruben Patterson, etc.
They've shown their true nature when it matters, and that goes beyond Xs and Os and in-game performance.

You mention he tested positive 2 day after the microphone incident.. did he already know that he had it during the incident, yet he still did the mic thing? This would help me deduce if he was really acting like an idiot, or if he just wasnt taking the virus seriously, like most people during that time.

[AbeVigodaLive]

In a game like last night's, Yes. The Wolves couldn't get a stop in the 4th and also had trouble converting on offense. They should have went with KAT and Naz to try to generate some more offense.

Only part of that is true.

Minnesota shot 56% and outscored Denver in the 4th quarter. For what it's worth... it was Gobert's best offensive quarter of the game (7 points, 6 rebounds... with 4 of them offensive rebounds.)

[Uncle Mxy]

You mention he tested positive 2 day after the microphone incident.. did he already know that he had it during the incident, yet he still did the mic thing? This would help me deduce if he was really acting like an idiot, or if he just wasnt taking the virus seriously, like most people during that time.

Looking at March 9th 2020 headlines...

The day Gobert spread his cooties being a chucklehead jackass:

- Italy had just locked down the whole country
- Schools and sporting events were shutting down.
- Toilet paper was staring to get scarce.

Did he know he had COVID-19 or symptoms? I don't know.
Did he know COVID-19 was real and nasty? He should have.

Did The Athletic gloss over COVID-19 in its Gobert interview? Yup.
Do I think Gobert's really changed at his core? No, not really.
So, I want to see the guy lose, whatever team he's plating on.

[Meeksology]

You mention he tested positive 2 day after the microphone incident.. did he already know that he had it during the incident, yet he still did the mic thing? This would help me deduce if he was really acting like an idiot, or if he just wasnt taking the virus seriously, like most people during that time.

Looking at March 9th 2020 headlines...

The day Gobert spread his cooties being a chucklehead jackass:

- Italy had just locked down the whole country
- Schools and sporting events were shutting down.
- Toilet paper was staring to get scarce.

Did he know he had COVID-19 or symptoms? I don't know.
Did he know COVID-19 was real and nasty? He should have.

Did The Athletic gloss over COVID-19 in its Gobert interview? Yup.
Do I think Gobert's really changed at his core? No, not really.
So, I want to see the guy lose, whatever team he's plating on.

I dont want to side track the thread, so I just want to add..

Hindsight is 20/20. We can google headlines from 4-5 years ago and take it dead serious now knowing what happened after the fact. But I remember during those times, a majority of society in the western world (specifically Canada and US) were NOT taking it as seriously as the news was telling us. People were STILL going out to clubs, STILL going to concerts and sporting events (contrary to what you said, sporting events were NOT getting shut down yet at the time. It was actually Gobert's incident that caused the NBA to shutdown, and the NBA was the first out of all the leagues to shutdown), beaches were STILL packed, people were STILL vacationing and airlines were STILL fully open.
YOU may have taken the threat seriously at that time, and good for you..but majority of society were still under the impression that the virus wasnt that serious. It was only when public venues and sporting events were getting shutdown, and the term social bubble and social distancing started popping up.. is when society finally took covid serious.

[cdubbz]

You mention he tested positive 2 day after the microphone incident.. did he already know that he had it during the incident, yet he still did the mic thing? This would help me deduce if he was really acting like an idiot, or if he just wasnt taking the virus seriously, like most people during that time.

Looking at March 9th 2020 headlines...

The day Gobert spread his cooties being a chucklehead jackass:

- Italy had just locked down the whole country
- Schools and sporting events were shutting down.
- Toilet paper was staring to get scarce.

Did he know he had COVID-19 or symptoms? I don't know.
Did he know COVID-19 was real and nasty? He should have.

Did The Athletic gloss over COVID-19 in its Gobert interview? Yup.
Do I think Gobert's really changed at his core? No, not really.
So, I want to see the guy lose, whatever team he's plating on.

Having a hard time posting the Gobert interview, but look how many people are close to him sitting down or passing through the hallway doors he passed through. No matter what they were in close contact to Rudy. If you're going to be upset he touched the microphones - I get it i guess, but if he didn't do that it wasn't going to stop him from spreading the virus.

At the time a lot of people even the majority were still at work, nothing was shut down in USA, and a lot of people were still out in public events.

Being upset at Rudy is ridiculous.

[Domejandro]

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Anyone claiming that Rudy Gobert is hurting Minnesota on-the-court is objectively wrong, and I genuinely do not know what they are watching.