The number one target for the Minnesota Timberwolves in their playoff series against the Denver Nuggets is undoubtedly Nikola Jokic. 

Being one of the best players in the league today, if not the best, he's a natural target and any way that the Timberwolves can contain him bodes well for how the rest of the game will go. 

Minnesota head coach Chris Finch stressed bringing the "fight" to Jokic as they prepared for the series and in Monday's 119-114 comeback win against the Nuggets, that's exactly what the Timberwolves did.

That being said, Jokic finished the game with 24 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists, but that's still a form of containing Jokic considering what he's capable of as a player. As Finch explained after the game, it's not a matter of stopping Jokic altogether, but making shots as difficult as possible and making him miss as much as they can.

Everyone on the floor got involved in shutting Jokic down at one point or another, but one player's effort stood out more than the rest, Jokic's counterpart at center Rudy Gobert.

"He was phenomenal," Finch said of Gobert (via Timberwolves). "Surviving the foul trouble, playing his defense before the catch, after the catch, challenging everything, it's hard to guard those guys. They're in every single action down and it's tiring. Everyone had a chance to fight him, but Rudy was there in the end."

Gobert's numbers on the score sheet wouldn't exactly blow anyone away, he finished with two points, seven rebounds and one assist, but the pressure that he put on Jokic defensively was more valuable than anything he could have done in the game scoring wise. 

Gobert's resume as a four-time Defensive Player of the Year speaks for itself, but he never fails to show off those defensive skills when it matters most. 

He'll continue to be relied on throughout the series to keep the pressure on Jokic as much as possible. While Jokic can truly only be slowed down, not stopped, anything that can be done to limit him or better yet, affect his decision making, is huge in the long run for Minnesota. 

The Denver offense runs through Jokic, utilizing his skills as both a scorer and a playmaker.

The more physicality that the Timberwolves can expose him to to limit his passing abilities or force him into uncomfortable shots can effectively stunt the Denver offense and create even more opportunities for Minnesota to grab an advantage.