After the Minnesota Timberwolves fell to the Chicago Bulls on Sunday (3/31), Rudy Gobert met with NBA media and stated that he would begin “holding people accountable” for dirty plays.
Gobert was not pleased with Bulls player Alex Caruso.
Rudy Gobert was not pleased with Alex Caruso: “I missed a month of play a few years back due to a knee injury I sustained when someone ran into my knee. I sincerely hope they take a look at this because I will hold individuals accountable if they don’t.”
The Timberwolves fell against the Bulls 109-101. Chicago outscored Minnesota 33-22 in the first quarter and 25-22 in the fourth.
“I thought they had way too many open 3s in the first half,” Gobert was quoted as saying. “We knew they were drive-and-kick, but I believe we overhelped a lot, especially with me in the paint the most of the time.
“We handed them threes. They needed to shoot them. They were wide-open. Many of them were unchallenged in the first half. It’s not who we are, particularly while I’m present. “We have to stick to what we do.”
Gobert ended with 19 points and 10 rebounds against the Bulls, shooting 8-of-9 from the field and 3-of-7 from the foul line.
The Timberwolves shot only 29.7% from beyond the arc against the Bulls.
“I thought we generated pretty good looks, pretty much all night long,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “There were certain places where we didn’t, but for the most part, I think we did a decent job of developing beautiful looks that simply didn’t make it in. To match their shooting, we needed them to enter.”
The Timberwolves are second in the West, with a 51-23 record. They are 18th in the NBA in points per game, first in points per game allowed, and third in net rating.
Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor told NBA writer Darren Wolfson that Karl-Anthony Towns is recovering from knee surgery ahead of schedule. Towns had left knee lateral meniscus surgery on March 12.
This season, Towns is averaging 22.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.7 blocks while shooting 50.6% from the field, 42.3% from beyond the arc, and 87.4% from the foul line.
Towns, a four-time All-Star, has recorded 22 double-doubles this season. The Timberwolves appear to be real title contenders for the first time since 2004.
During the Towns era, the Timberwolves have never moved past the first round of the playoffs. It’ll be amazing to watch how far Minnesota advances in the 2024 playoffs.
Minnesota selected Towns with the first overall choice in the 2015 NBA draft. Towns has a lifetime average of 22.9 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 3.2.
