Draymond Green's harsh take on Timberwolves' Rudy Gobert missing Game 2 vs. Nuggets due to child birth
07/05/2024 18:08
Rudy Gobert missed Game 2 of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ second-round series against the Denver Nuggets as he flew from Denver to Minneapolis for the birth of his son. While many lauded Gobert for being present for a special moment in his and his family’s lives, others did not agree with it, including Gobert’s longtime rival, Draymond Green.
Green, a four-time NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors, has been one of the most persistent critics of Gobert over the years. Despite both being NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award recipients, Green and Gobert have traded words over the years and Green even got physical with Gobert during a November game between the Warriors and Timberwolves when Green placed Gobert in a chokehold that ultimately earned him a suspension from the league.
With the Warriors having failed to make the playoffs and Gobert’s Timberwolves not only alive but thriving in the postseason, Green has had plenty of time to sit back and watch the NBA Playoffs. And after Gobert missed Game 2 for his child’s birth, Green questioned if the French defensive dynamo would make the same call had the Timberwolves lost Game 1.
“I'm a father of four. I love my kids, and I love my wife, but she's going to have to hold off for me for just a few more hours for a playoff game, me personally,” Green said. “Number one, congratulations to him. Anytime we bring new life into this world, it's a special thing, and that's something, like I said, as a father of four, I don't take for granted at all. But I also try not to take this game for granted.
“So when I heard Rudy wasn't going to play, I was like ‘wow.’ To me, it almost felt like you were almost cashing it in… Because my first immediate question was, if they lost Game 1, would the approach be the same? If you lost Game 1 and you're in jeopardy of going down 0-2, would the approach be the same or would you be there?”
Rudy Gobert, Timberwolves rolling through playoffs
Despite Rudy Gobert’s absence, the Minnesota Timberwolves rolled to a 106-80 Game 2 victory in Denver. The blowout win gives the Wolves a commanding 2-0 series lead, and with the series now shifting to Minneapolis for the next two games, the Timberwolves have a real chance at sweeping the defending NBA champions.
If Minnesota can do it, that would make back-to-back sweeps for the Timberwolves, who eliminated Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, and the Phoenix Suns in a dominant first-round series. The Wolves’ defense stifled the Suns’ offense for the better part of the series, and Anthony Edwards proved that he is likely the fastest-rising player in the NBA today.
The Timberwolves still have work to do to finish off the Nuggets, however. Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic, the latter of whom is likely to be named league MVP for a third time this week, led the Nuggets to back-to-back 3-1 comebacks in the 2020 playoffs and showed their true potential as a duo last postseason when the Nuggets bulldozed their way to the first NBA title in franchise history.
Gobert, Edwards, and the Timberwolves host Game 3 in Minnesota on Friday at 8:30 p.m. CT.
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