Rudy Gobert speaks ahead of game one against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Minnesota Timberwolves punched their ticket to the second round of the NBA playoffs with a 4-2 series win in round one against the Denver Nuggets.
The Minnesota victory probably came as a surprise to everyone outside of Minnesota given how Denver finished its regular season, the brilliance of Nikola Jokic, and then the injuries to the Timberwolves in the middle of the series.
Despite disadvantages on paper, Minnesota proved to be the tougher and more phsyical team on the court, pushing the Nuggets around and making sure their offense could rarely get comfortable throughout the series.
A big credit to Minnesota's success went to Rudy Gobert, who made Jokic work on every possession and shut him down from an efficiency perspective in games two through four, all victories for Minnesota.
A New Challenge
The Timberwolves will see the San Antonio Spurs in the second round and another elite center in the paint. Victor Wembanyama may not be the offensive engine that Jokic is, but he presents a different kind of challenge for Gobert and the Timberwolves on both ends of the court.
Wemby won't play as inside as much as Jokic, but he will attack off the dribble and play above the rim more than Jokic.
The bigger challenge will be on the other side of the floor, where Wemby has established himself as the premier shot blocker in the league and is the 2025-26 Defensive Player of the Year.
Gobert on Slowing Down Wemby
With Gobert, the Timberwolves don't have a player who can pull Wemby out of the paint with his gravity, but they do have a physical presence who can wear on Wemby and a player to drop the ball off to if Wemby does challenge at the rim.
Asked how he might be able to prevent Wemby from blocking shots in the series, Gobert said, "By putting pressure on him. Screening for my teammates. For myself, being aggressive. He's going to do what he wants to do regardless, and go to protect the rim regardless, that's who he is. For me, it's just about making sure we stay within the flow of our offense and keep doing the things we're doing and keep being who I am."
Wemby had only four games without a block this season. One of those games came in the only meeting between Wemby and Gobert on January 11, when the Timberwolves bested the Spurs, 104-103.
Wemby averaged four blocks in four games against the Portland Trail Blazers during their first round series.