Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards reveals exact Rudy Gobert moment he knew they’d win Game 7

During a second half where everything that could go wrong for the Nuggets seemingly went wrong, the Timberwolves were blessed with the ultimate gift in the form of a Rudy Gobert outside of the paint bucket.

Rudy Gobert stuns the NBA world

Suffice to say, making shots from range is not what has made Rudy Gobert a multimillionaire throughout what will inevitably be a Hall of Fame career. He embodies the rim-running/protecting archetype at the center position, a player who is at his best setting screens tirelessly, rolling hard to the rim, causing the defense to collapse with his rim pressure, and then feasting on layups, dunks, and lobs. He does not have much offensive use outside the paint aside from his screen-setting.

On the defensive end is where Gobert butters his bread. The Timberwolves traded for him because he anchors defenses like no other, and the team’s results in 2023-24 prove that to be the case as they put up the best defense in the league this past regular season. He is the four-time Defensive Player of the Year for a reason.

There are times where Gobert’s presence makes it easier for opponents to defend, as they only have to bother about the Stifle Tower when he’s near the rim. In fact, during the first half of the Timberwolves’ Game 7 clash against the Nuggets, there were clamors that the team should bench Gobert, as he was handicapping the team’s ability to score. But the Timberwolves were resolute in their belief in Gobert, and it paid off in a way that not even them would have imagined in their wildest dreams.

With the Timberwolves leading by just two points, 77-75, with 7:47 left in the fourth quarter of Game 7, Gobert caught the ball with the intention of handing it back off to either Anthony Edwards or Karl-Anthony Towns. The Nuggets played some smothering denial defense, forcing Gobert to channel his inner Dirk Nowitzki; bewilderingly, Gobert sank the most difficult shot he has ever taken in his career, and with the stakes being at their highest, no less.

Gobert has been a lightning rod for criticism throughout his career. But at least for the moment, that shot will force his haters to lay low and keep quiet for a bit as the Timberwolves head on to the Western Conference Finals for just the second time in franchise history.

Timberwolves vs. Mavericks, a mini preview

It’s best not to look at the Timberwolves and Mavericks’ regular season series when analyzing which team has the upper hand in their upcoming WCF clash. These teams are playing at a very high level at the moment, and this is a series that could go either way even if the Timberwolves won three out of four this past season.

Unlike the Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder, the Mavericks will not have a clear edge on the boards whatsoever against the Timberwolves. Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Naz Reid will make sure that Dereck Lively II (and to a lesser extent, Daniel Gafford) will not wreak havoc on the boards like he did in the earlier rounds.

The Timberwolves also have the length and athleticism to make life difficult for a perimeter-based Mavericks team, as they don’t exactly have a player who puts pressure reliably on the rim outside of Luka Doncic. And Doncic will be facing one of the fiercest perimeter defenders in today’s NBA in Jaden McDaniels, although the Mavericks star still had his way with a defender of a similar caliber (Lu Dort) in the second round.

The Timberwolves will be the slight favorite to advance to the NBA Finals; the Mavericks will have to show that the scorching hot shooting of their role players is sustainable to prevent Minnesota from loading up too much on the team’s Hall of Fame backcourt. If they come crashing down to earth, then all the Timberwolves have to do is take care of business.