On Sunday afternoon, the Minnesota Timberwolves suffered their fourth straight loss with a road defeat at the hands of the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder. Although the Timberwolves led at halftime and controlled things well into the third quarter, things fell apart quickly from there, as Anthony Edwards struggled through a relatively quiet scoring night.
It was a particularly brutal game for Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert, who scored just two points and grabbed seven rebounds, finishing the night as a -23 in the box score.
Needless to say, fans on X, formerly Twitter, were having a field day at the much-maligned big man's expense.
“Gobert the most hilarious player on offense man, straight statue,” wrote one fan.
“Rudy Gobert is just not good offensively, he is all over the place,” added another.
However, other users came to Gobert's defense amid the rough showing.
“I find it so funny how many wolves fans hate Gobert and want him off their team but he’s the reason they contend every year. Without him they have ZERO defence,” noted one fan.
Indeed, Gobert is oftentimes a double-edged sword for Minnesota, as he is the clear anchor of their defensive unit and consistently makes up for other players' shortcomings on that end of the floor, but also typically provides next to nothing from an offensive skillset perspective.
Some of Gobert's notable gaffes over the years, as well as his frequent bullying from former players like Shaquille O'Neal, have made him somewhat of an easy target for internet trolls looking to increase social media engagement.
However, there is certainly some legitimacy to the notion that Gobert's lack of offensive skills can present a huge challenge to the Timberwolves, particularly against elite teams like Oklahoma City.
