Why is Rudy Gobert not playing today vs Lebanon? Reason for 3x DPOY's absence explored

The French national team led by NBA Players Rudy Gobert, Nicolas Batum, and Evan Fournier has been eliminated from contention at the FIBA World Cup 2023. They fell by 30 points (95-65) against Canada in their first game and were then upset by Latvia in a narrow two point game (88-86).

Team France will soon be playing in the Classification Round for the bottom two teams from each group to determine the placing for teams from 17-32. However, they still have one matchup left in the Group Stages which will be against Lebanon.

The game will take place on August 29 at the Indonesia Arena in Jakarta at 4:45 PM GMT+7 or 5:45 AM ET. However, they will be without the services of defensive stalwart Rudy Gobert who is out due to an ankle injury.

It is still unclear whether Gobert is out for the remainder of the tournament, but as it stands currently, he may no longer play in the Classification Round for the French National Team, who has been stunned in their first two games in the FIBA World Cup.

Aside from Gobert, the French team will also be without the services of Moustapha Fall against Lebanon. Furthermore, Mathias Lessort will also be rested for the remainder of the tournament to allow him to heal after his return from an ankle injury.

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Rudy Gobert had a lackluster performance against Canada and Latvia in the Group Stage at FIBA World Cup 2023

Rudy Gobert had a lackluster performance against both Canada and Latvia

Just by looking at the final score, anyone can tell that the French National team was absolutely dismantled by the Canadians in their opening day game and Rudy Gobert's individual performance wasn't any brighter.

He struggled to make shots as he ended the night with a 4/9 clip for 8 points from the field and also turned the ball over four times throughout the matchup.

While he did grab nine rebounds and blocked one shot, these stats are far below what the fans expected from the 3x NBA Defensive Player of the Year when he was with the Utah Jazz.

His performance in France's heartbreaking loss against Latvia was not any better as he ended the night with only seven rebounds and nine points, a majority of which came from the free throw line.

He also turned the ball over four times which is certainly a factor in a game that was decided by two points. Gobert's performance on defense was only marginally better a he ended the night with two blocks and three steals but it was still not enough to help his team.