Rudy Gobert had been in this situation before.
In his time with the Utah Jazz, he was isolated against Luka Dončić with a basketball game on the line in a heated situation. And that time he was successful.
That, obviously, was not the case on Friday night when the Minnesota Timberwolves fell to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. The NBA Defensive Player of the Year, with the Wolves on top, allowed a game-winning 3-pointer to Dončić, on a step-back, and had to watch as Dončić mercilessly trash-talked Gobert as he backed away toward the Mavericks’ bench.
It leads to a lot of questions and observations.
Gobert made the critical mistake of allowing Dončić to reach his stepback, when it was obvious that Dončić was chasing him and it was obvious that the only thing that would beat Minnesota on this play was a three-pointer.
“The idea was for us to switch, press up and funnel it inside the 3-point line,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said.
And that’s where the biggest mistake happened. When Dončić hit Gobert with his first step off the dribble, Gobert’s overreaction doomed his chance to stop the play. Obviously Dončić shot. But once Gobert reacted so strongly, Dončić had all the separation in the world, and the impending shot would be decisive, rather than Gobert forcing Dončić to take the shot Minnesota wanted him to take.
Gobert didn’t need to react to that step because if Dončić was forced to the line, a tied game would be the worst case scenario for Minnesota. The only thing that beats him is a triple. The problem here was that Gobert knew it. He’s been in enough isolation situations with Dončić to know what shot Dončić wants. More than that, Gobert has been in several isolation situations with Houston’s version of James Harden. He and Dončić are similar in their ability to hunt down step-back threes.
In that sense, Gobert really needed to be better right now. Dončić is good enough that you can do everything correctly and still get it right. He is one of the best players in the world for a reason. But, when Gobert said after Game 2 that he let his team down, here’s what he meant: He meant that he didn’t force Dončić to take a difficult shot, because the shot Dončić took was called on his terms rather than Gobert’s defense will dictate the terms. . Everyone will talk about the final product when, in reality, it was the process that beat Gobert and the Wolves and not the shot itself.
That’s the most disappointing part of all of this for Gobert. He’s done this before. On Friday night he had to take a shot away from Dončić. It was good that Dončić scored inside the goal. The 3 is what Minnesota couldn’t live without. And we’ve seen Gobert lock down Dončić with a game on the line, when Dončić had the entire court at his disposal.
In this clip, the Jazz need a stop and Gobert is isolated from Dončić at the top of the key without help. Dončić goes left and right. He shifts gears. He is disgusting. He tries his best and Gobert forces an aerial ball in a game the Jazz won.
So Friday night wasn’t just about throwing an inexperienced big at Dončić with a playoff game on the line. Gobert has had success before against Dončić, which is one of the reasons why Dončić obviously has no love for Gobert. Here’s a clip from the same game with a tied score, so you don’t think the first clip was a fluke.
Dončić goes left, right and hits Gobert with a big hesitant dribble. Gobert remains solid, anticipates well and blocks the shot.
If Gobert was able to successfully guard Dončić twice when he had his entire offensive pocket at his disposal, it should have made it difficult on Friday night’s fateful possession when it was clear Dončić was trying to do one thing.
Dončić deserves credit. First, he made the shot, which was obviously huge. But, for much of his career, the step behind him was due to him going left. Friday night was going well. At least, when we talk about his offensive disposition, Dončić has expanded it. And for that he deserves a lot of credit.
The sad thing is that this will dominate the conversation until Game 3 on Sunday, when Gobert has been Minnesota’s best player in this series. He has been sensational on both ends of the floor, and the Wolves have generally fallen apart when he hasn’t been on the floor.
But Minnesota’s coaching staff also has to share some of this blame.
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PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford have been in business since they were children.
Finch was right to want to channel Dončić into the goal. But look at the work. It was a selective action with Dereck Lively II. Jaden McDaniels was protecting Lively. With Anthony Edwards guarding Kyrie Irving and Naz Reid glued to PJ Washington, that initial pick action had to be a blitz with two on the ball rather than a switch. Have Dallas tie the game with someone other than Dončić or Irving throwing the ball. Worst case scenario, Washington or Derrick Jones Jr. gets a semi-open 3-point look, but you have to live with that. If you blitz Dončić, you force the ball to Lively, and the rookie either runs to the basket or has to make a decision on the fly.
Instead, Minnesota significantly dangled Gobert and put him on an island against one of the top five players in the world. Defensive Player of the Year or not, it wasn’t entirely fair to put Gobert in that situation. There are those who advocate not having it in the game in the first place. That part I don’t agree with. You win or lose with your best players on the court. Gobert largely won the Timberwolves’ series against the Denver Nuggets, especially in that Game 7. And Minnesota was in a position to win Friday night in large part because Gobert was so good. So you’re not going against what got you to the Western Conference finals.
What is clear is that everyone could and should have reacted better to that situation. Gobert and the coaching staff. That Dončić shot was cold-blooded, but it was a relatively easy play by his standards, especially in a playoff setting.
The Timberwolves have to hope that one play doesn’t cost them their season. Coming back from a 2-0 series deficit won’t be easy.
(Photo: Stephen Maturen//Keynote USA/Getty Images)
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