Chris Finch and the Wolves were waiting for a benchmark victory, and they signed it on Saturday night by winning 133-104 against the Nuggets, one of the teams in form at the moment. With seven players at 10 points or more and an address of 56%, Minnesota reminded that it was much better than its current 7th place, and as he had promised, Rudy Gobert raised his level of play.
“I have to do better. Stop overthinking » explained the Frenchman the day before. “I just have to throw myself into it. Sometimes I think too much, and it takes me out of things. I get distracted, with people telling me what I should do on the rebound. I need to trust my instincts again. »
Facing Nikola Jokic, the Frenchman compiled 14 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists, and his influence on the good health of the Wolves goes beyond this double-double. “He realizes that when you give him the ball, he has to do the right thing every time”explains Mike Conley, his accomplice for several years. “It's difficult, especially for Ant sometimes, to want to make that pass if we don't get something from it. For Rudy, it's just about making the right reads at the beginning, not trying to do too much. When we make the right reads, we are very strong and our offense does not stagnate.”
A great first quarter!
Clearly, Conley explains that it is essential to go through Gobert to vary the attacks and move the defense. Everyone knows, Gobert is not a player capable of dominating one-on-one. But his teammates have to trust him and give him the ball, and count on him to be a focal point. Like in the first quarter where the Frenchman scored 7 points and distributed 4 assists!
“It’s really important to set the tone, I realize that as a leader I want to set the tone for my teammates”, assures Gobert. “I think it gives everyone confidence … to be an asset on offense, and to do the right thing. »
Against him, Jokic was in pain, to the point of only taking three rebounds. When you limit Jokic from rebounding, it's like taking away the Nuggets' launch pad. “Rudy was very good and set the tone for the offensive rebound in the first quarter” concludes Chris Finch. “He continued to impose his presence when they tried to put pups on him. With his level of activity, he disrupted everything. »
