How the Rudy Gobert and the Minnesota Timberwolves made the Suns go supernova

The Minnesota Timberwolves' four-game dismantling of the Phoenix Suns has been the biggest shock of the first round of the NBA playoffs. Coming off of a 56-win season, a game out of first place in the Western Conference, the Timberwolves owned the league’s third-best net rating (plus-6.6) and its top defense (109.0 points per 100 possessions), but were far from heavy favorites in their matchup with the Suns. 

Only nine out of 15 ESPN analysts even picked the Timberwolves to win the series, and not only did no one predict a sweep, but 14 out of 15 predicted the Suns would win at least two games. For as star-studded as the Suns are, they were made to look like the little brother all series long. 

Predicting the Suns would make this an interesting series was a bet on their talent, but it was also a complete disregard for the quality of Minnesota’s roster. Teams don’t win 56 games in a brutal conference by accident, and in the end, it was the Timberwolves’ overwhelming talent that triggered the Suns’ supernova self-detonation.    

The Timberwolves’ unsung star– Rudy Gobert

The primary narrative as to how the Timberwolves swept the Suns is the superstar emergence of Anthony Edwards. Edwards was fantastic in the series, averaging 31 points, eight rebounds, 6.3 assists, and two steals per game on 51.2 percent shooting and 43.8 percent shooting from 3-point range, but he didn’t do it alone. Karl-Anthony Towns chipped in 19 points per game on over 50 percent shooting from the field and 3-point range, Jaden McDaniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker were defensive menaces who had timely offensive outbursts, and Mike Conley provided a steadying hand on offense to tie it all together. However, outside of Edwards, the real standout from the series was the Stifle Tower himself — Rudy Gobert.

No matter how dominant Rudy Gobert is defensively, he seems to never get the bouquet of flowers he deserves. The Timberwolves finished with the fourth-best record in the league this season because of their defense, and while Gobert will likely walk away with the Defensive Player of the Year, it wouldn’t come as a shock if Anthony Edwards makes an All-NBA team over him, even though the Timberwolves finished with the 16th ranked offense. Much like in the regular season, the Timberwolves’ playoff successes will be attributed to his charismatic sidekick Anthony Edwards, but Edwards is the sidekick, not the protagonist. 

The Timberwolves used Rudy Gobert masterfully 

The Timberwolves’ defensive game plan against the Suns was built around Rudy Gobert’s all-encompassing, world-destroying defense. While traditionally known as a drop big in pick-and-roll coverages, Gobert was also tasked with getting to the level of the screen and forcing the ball out of the hands of the Suns’ three stars, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal, or switching on to them and guarding them one-on-one. 

This is only the first quarter of game one, but the Timberwolves’ plan for Gobert was already clear. His primary job was to force the Suns’ pick-and-roll actions out of their best players' hands and see if the rest of the roster could beat them. He does an excellent job reading if the perimeter defender can get through the screen in time and then either contesting the shot or forcing a pass. It led to a few buckets at the rim for Jusuf Nurkic, but it prevented the Suns’ best players from getting any daylight and finding an early shooting rhythm. 

Indicative of the entire series, the Suns’ first two possessions were Kevin Durant isolations on Gobert that led to two highly contested mid-range jumpers, a play we wouldn’t see again in the first quarter. Evidently, the Suns believed they had an advantage getting Gobert isolated on their elite ball handlers, but found out quickly that the advantage was actually with Minnesota. 

Gobert’s pick-and-roll and isolation defense was so good early in the series that the Suns began running more offense to negate it. They started setting screens far beyond the 3-point line, asked Jusuf Nurkic to act as a passing hub, and altogether did their best to stay out of Gobert’s airspace. Here’s an extended cut of Gobert’s best contests from the series. 

Gobert doesn’t just pop on tape in this series, his metrics are also outstanding. With the “French Rejection” on the court, the Timberwolves posted a plus-21.68 net rating in 140 minutes, and a minus-5.32 net rating in the 52 minutes he sat. Unsurprisingly, with how vital Gobert was, the only close game of the series (Game four, 122-116) saw Gobert play 24:58 minutes due to foul trouble. 

An unsung part of the job Gobert did on defense was absolutely turning off the Suns’ second chance faucet. During the regular season, the Suns enjoyed a 25 percent offensive rebound rate, which was a bit above the league average of 24.2 percent. However, against the Timberwolves it plummeted to 18.2 percent, well below the playoff average of 23.3 percent. With Gobert on the court, the Timberwolves collected five percent more defensive rebounds than when he sat, according to PBPStats. 

Gobert’s offensive impact

His influence went far beyond just patrolling the paint and contesting the shots. Gobert was an integral part of the Timberwolves offense, helping them to a 130.07 offensive rating when on the court. His gravity as a rim runner opened the lane and saw their at-rim field goal attempt percentage go from 31.2 percent to 37 percent with him on the court. Most crucially, his offensive rebounding was a significant weapon, leading the Timberwolves to the best offensive rebound rate in the playoffs at 35.3 percent and 25.6 points per 100 possessions on putbacks. 

*Data per Cleaning the Glass

His ability to open up the lane through his rim gravity combined with his offensive rebounding is a big reason why they currently have the best offensive rating in the playoffs at 126.4 points per 100 possessions. 

Gobert averaged an incredibly efficient 15 points per game by converting 61.3 percent of his field goals and was also lethal from the foul line against the Suns. He converted 20 of 25 shots from the foul line and his dominance over the Suns centers forced them to play Kevin Durant at center for stretches. His true shooting percentage of 71.4 percent was the best in the series of anyone to play over seven minutes. 

The Minnesota Timberwolves destroyed the Phoenix Suns behind the biggest mismatch of the series — Rudy Gobert against whoever was the Suns’ centers. His ability to stay with perimeter players allowed the Timberwolves to vary their defensive coverages, and he was as staunch as ever at the rim. Anthony Edwards deserves all the praise he’s receiving, but Gobert deserves an equal share of it as well. He’s the backbone of the best team in the playoffs thus far, and if the Timberwolves make a run to the finals, he’ll likely be the biggest reason why.