"Going at that man every chance" - Josh Hart pities 4x DPOY Rudy Gobert as Mavs sophomore takes him on 1v1

The Dallas Mavericks showed no fear against four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert during Sunday's 116-107 Game 3 Western Conference finals victory. That includes sophomore guard Jaden Hardy, whose fearlessness seemingly caught New York Knicks wing Josh Hart's attention.

With Dallas leading 81-79 in the third quarter's final minutes, Hardy caught the ball on the wing and drove straight at Gobert on the baseline. The three-time All-Star briefly cut off his lane to the basket, so Hardy backed out to the 3-point line.

Gobert clapped his hands enthusiastically at the 21-year-old as he got set to defend him one-on-one in space. However, Hardy wasn't deterred, as he drove past the 7-foot-1 big man, crossed him over, pump-faked and drew a foul.

Afterward, Hart took to X/Twitter, remarking about the Mavericks' offense appearing to target Gobert.

"They're going at that man every chance," Hart said.

Most would probably agree that Gobert had a strong regular season, spearheading Minnesota's No. 1-ranked defensive rating (108.4). His elite regular-season rim protection earned him his record-tying fourth DPOY trophy earlier this month.

However, with teams utilizing different strategies and lineups in the postseason, the 32-year-old has once again struggled to adjust to guarding smaller players when necessary.

Gobert finished with only nine points and six rebounds, tallying five fouls without a block in 29 minutes. Meanwhile, Minnesota dropped its third consecutive game to fall into a demoralizing 3-0 deficit.

So, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch may be forced to tinker with his rotations ahead of Tuesday's must-win Game 4 showdown in Dallas.

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Draymond Green calls for Minnesota to bench Rudy Gobert and utilize smaller lineups

Among those hoping to see Minnesota make a Game 4 lineup change is Rudy Gobert's longtime rival and critic, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green.

During TNT's Game 3 postgame show, the four-time NBA champion highlighted how the Timberwolves players and coaching staff let rising superstar wing Anthony Edwards down. So, Green called on Chris Finch to play smaller lineups featuring backups Naz Reid and Kyle Anderson over Gobert and his frontcourt co-star Karl-Anthony Towns.

"At some point, Chris Finch has got to make an adjustment. You keep rolling the same guys out there with the same game plan each game, and you've fallen behind 3-0," Green said.

"... We can't worry about Karl-Anthony Towns' feelings or Rudy Gobert's feelings. They need Naz Reid out there. They need Kyle Anderson out there. You've gotta figure that out."

Time will tell if Finch heeds to Green's advice. However, Minnesota may only have one chance to do so facing elimination on Tuesday.

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