The Minnesota Timberwolves have not gotten the results they wanted out of Rudy Gobert so far. The most recent example of the big man failing to live up to the expectations came in a loss to the Miami Heat. He failed to take advantage of the chance to prove himself with Karl-Anthony Towns out.

Gobert was outplayed by undrafted rookie Orlando Robinson in the Timberwolves' loss and was benched in crunchtime in favor. of Naz Reid. According to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, Chris Finch decided to roll with Reid down the stretch of the Timberwolves' 113-110 win simply because Reid was impactful on both ends of the court. He tallied 21 points, second-most on the team, on 8-15 shooting as well as a game-high 11 boards.

“He’s been playing great, you know?” Finch said, via The Athletic. “At the heart of the zone, he was aggressive, made a lot of really good decisions, played quickly.”

Gobert had a fine performance, notching 10 points and eight rebounds on 5-7 shooting, but that isn't enough for someone expected to be one of the biggest difference makers on the team.

The Timberwolves were hoping Rudy Gobert would be good enough to turn them into a title contender. Although he deserves praise for his generous holiday efforts to help the Minnesota community, his impact with the Wolves may not be enough to make them a strong team. They are 16-18 right now, which has them on the egde of play-in territory in the Western Conference.