The Los Angeles Lakers may have missed out on a top-six seed in the Western Conference, but the Timberwolves’ implosion on the final day of the season has Los Angeles looking like a heavy favorite to advance in Tuesday’s matchup.
Rudy Gobert punched teammate Kyle Anderson near the Timberwolves bench, and was then removed from the sidelines. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Anderson had been repeatedly using an expletive to refer to Gobert.
Rudy Gobert throws a shot at teammate Kyle Anderson during a timeout. pic.twitter.com/dRzi3ALkoJ
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) April 9, 2023
The Timberwolves announced on Monday that Gobert has been suspended for one game. Interestingly, the Timberwolves’ winning percentage is significantly higher this season when Gobert doesn’t play.
Timberwolves win% this season:
.667 — Without Rudy Gobert
.486 — With Rudy Gobert pic.twitter.com/dlgDQuriqG— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 10, 2023
To make matters worse for Minnesota, Jaden McDaniels suffered a fractured hand after punching a wall at halftime. McDaniels is a key defender for the Timberwolves, and averaged 30.6 minutes and 12.1 points per game in 79 starts this season.
Jaden McDaniels punched a wall on the way to the locker room 😬
He is out the rest of the game with a hand injury pic.twitter.com/QVGMp1hful
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 9, 2023
