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There's a huge chance that the Minnesota Timberwolves, a team that finished with 46 wins during the 2021-22 season, jumped the gun after trading away a good chunk of their future, along with valuable role players, for Rudy Gobert. Last season, the Timberwolves boasted a modern offensive attack while starting five capable shooters from deep. And as was the case in the 2023 NBA play-in tournament game, Minnesota flourished once again without the French center, almost beating the Los Angeles Lakers before the entire team collapsed in the fourth quarter.
This is not to say that Gobert is a bad player. In fact, he's far from one, as he remains one of the most impactful defensive players in the NBA. But there's simply no way that the Timberwolves recoup anywhere near the value they gave up for the three-time Defensive Player of the Year, especially after he punched Kyle Anderson on the chest during a crucial contest against the New Orleans Pelicans this past weekend.
However, even for just one game, Rudy Gobert has a chance to at least make the Timberwolves' trade for him worth their while. With their backs against the wall in the 2023 NBA play-in tournament game for the eighth seed, Gobert has a chance to dominate the Oklahoma City Thunder in the paint, as they don't have a particularly deep frontcourt rotation.
Even then, how far the Timberwolves will go, not just against the Thunder or in the playoffs should they make it, will depend on how well this certain player performs.
Here is the Timberwolves' biggest X-factor in the 2023 NBA play-in tournament game against the Thunder, and here is why it's not Rudy Gobert.
Timberwolves' biggest X-factor vs. Thunder: Anthony Edwards
It seems almost crazy for Anthony Edwards to even be in consideration for X-factor status, especially after a strong, All-Star-caliber 2022-23 season, but here we are.
It's unclear if something is wrong with Edwards physically, but against the Lakers, something clearly wasn't right for the third-year guard out of Georgia. He lacked his trademark burst on the offensive end, as he was unable to glide past the Lakers' defenders with ease.
Instead of attacking the rim with reckless abandon like he should have, especially during the fourth quarter where the Timberwolves appeared to forget that there's more to the game than barfing up jumpshots, he settled for one pull-up after another, bricking almost every shot he took en route to a 3-17 night.
In fact, his 3-17 shooting night was his worst performance this season, and it could not have come at a more inopportune time for the Timberwolves.
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If only Anthony Edwards played to his usual standards, then the Timberwolves may have cruised to victory against the Lakers, especially after getting solid performances from cold-blooded veteran Mike Conley and unheralded sharpshooter Taurean Prince.
But with the Timberwolves' season on the line, Edwards will need to wake up on both ends of the floor.
With Rudy Gobert (presumably) back in action on Friday, Edwards will have to be on point with his jumpshots and forays onto the rim given that the Timberwolves have a bottom-1o ranked offense with their blockbuster offseason acquisition on the court. The Gobert-Towns fit has never been a seamless one, and at this point in the season, there's no reason to expect it to suddenly click, so Edwards will have to bring his offensive A-game.
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves will have to call upon him to take on either the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Josh Giddey matchup. With both coming off 30+ point games, Edwards will need to channel the defensive effort he displayed against the Pelicans during the final game of the regular season.
During that contest, Edwards became hustle personified, transforming into an unstoppable passing lane menace all the while becoming a deterrent at the rim with his athleticism. He finished that must-win game with four steals and four blocks, the latter of which tied a career-high.
Edwards has showed up in big games before, as evidenced by his 30-point performance in their play-in tournament win in 2022 and his 36-point night in a heartbreaking series-ending Game 6 loss against the Memphis Grizzlies in last year's playoffs, so it's not like the third-year guard had already built a habit of disappearing.
The matchup against the Thunder will not be an easy one for Edwards, given Luguentz Dort and Jalen Williams' ability to bother players at the point of attack. But Edwards has had success against Dort in the past (averaging 21.7 points on 49.1 percent shooting in games where he's matched up against the Thunder wing).
And for the sake of the Timberwolves' season, they will need Edwards not to crap the bed on consecutive games.
