Timberwolves star may miss Game 2 against Nuggets
May 6, 2024, 12:13 PM | Updated: 2:50 pm
DENVER—A night before Minnesota Timberwolves star center Rudy Gobert is expected to be given his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award, he may miss Game 2 of the second round against the Denver Nuggets.
Gobert was a late add to the Injury Report on Monday hours before the game, being listed as questionable due to personal reasons. Multiple Minnesota reporters have shared that Gobert is expecting his first child and that’s likely the reason he’s missed the gameday shootaround. Those same journalists have said that Gobert had shared in the past that he would miss a playoff game for the birth of his child if he had to choose.
We do not see Gobert here at the open press part of shootaround. Gobert previously said earlier this season he would miss a potential playoff game for the birth of his child.
— Chris Hine (@ChristopherHine) May 6, 2024
Gobert was essential in the Twin Cities’ unique Twin Towers gameplan where Gobert roamed off Denver’s Aaron Gordon. Gobert only scored six points but grabbed 13 boards as the Wolves out-glassed Denver by eight and he was key in slowing Jokic to 32 points on 25 shots with nine rebounds and eight assists while throwing seven turnovers.
A four-time All-NBA player, Gobert has battled the Nuggets in the playoffs before—most famously in the bubble when his Utah Jazz blew a 3-1 lead to Denver. Gobert, 31, has been at about his peak form this season, scoring 14 and grabbing 13 rebounds a night while being one of the league’s strongest paint protectors.
Without Gobert, the Wolves will likely start NBA Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid. The backup big scored 16 points off the bench with 14 coming in the fourth in Game 1. He and Karl-Anthony Towns will have to step up big time for the NBA’s top-rated defensive team in trying to take a second game in Denver.
Saturday’s series opener was the first meeting between these two teams as they are now in a fully healthy form. Jokic and the Nuggets beat Gobert, Anthony Edwards and the Wolves last season 4-1, but that team was without Reid and Jaden McDaniels.
Since 1984, road teams that win Game 1 in a best-of-seven are 60-60. If that team wins again to go up 2-0 on the road, they’re 22-4 all-time while a 1-1 split swings way back to Denver’s favor at 56-38. The Nuggets were briefly series underdogs Monday morning, showing just how important Game 2 is for the Nuggets response.
