"Rudy Gobert coming off the bench" - Draymond Green lays down blueprint for Timberwolves to avoid Game 2 loss vs Mavericks

Draymond Green, in a recent episode of his podcast, claimed that the Minnesota Timberwolves might have to move defensive star Rudy Gobert to the bench. As the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Timberwolves in the conference, the Golden State Warriors’ defensive specialist said that the Wolves were dealing with matchup issues.

On the latest episode of his podcast, “The Draymond Green Show,” the Warriors star spoke in detail about what the Timberwolves need to do to win Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. Green said that the Timberwolves had a matchup issue against the Mavs, who have two great guards.

Green also added that both Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic were feeding on the Timberwolves, who were playing drop coverage defense. The plays provided multiple shot opportunities for Mavs stars. Green suggested that the T’Wolves should give Kyle Anderson more time on the court.

“I think Rudy [Gogert] has been a lot better this year, with being about the level of the screen and not just getting his eye dotted from guards that are coming off the screen because he is on the drop. I think he has done a lot better this year on moving his feet,” Green said.

“I think Minnesota’s adjustment is gonna have to be this; More Kyle Anderson and that may even mean Rudy Gobert coming off the bench,” Draymond Green added.

Green also added that for the T'Wolves to have a chance against the Mavs, they would have to get Anthony Edwards off of Irving. In Game 1, Edwards was the primary defender on Irving and the Mavs star dropped 30 points, shooting over 52% from the field.

Draymond Green was skeptical of Rudy Gobert’s previous DPOY awards

The relationship between Draymond Green and Rudy Gobert has been a complicated one for years. From a competitive beef that started almost a decade ago when Green and Gobert were trying to win Defensive Player of the Year to Green putting Gobert in a cuckold, it has been quite a journey for them.

Recently, Green fired another shot at Gobert and said that he did not deserve the DPOY before the 2023-24 season. He said that the Timberwolves star got the award just for blocking shots in the paint.

Draymond Green said that the blocks by Gobert were not earned but were created by his teammates on the weak side of the offensive player.

[4:45] “It was a matter of him blocking weakside blocks, because it wasn't like someone was posting him up and he's blocking a shot. No, it's like you drive, he comes weak side and he blocks it,” said Green.

However, the Warriors player also added that this season Rudy Gobert did deserve to win the DPOY award.

“I think Rudy Gobert has gotten a lot better defensively now than what he was years ago. This year was the first time that I thought he actually deserved to win Defensive Player of the Year,” he added.

This season, Gobert earned his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award. He is now tied with Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace for the most DPOY career wins.