Kendrick Perkins bashes ‘sassy’ Rudy Gobert after Timberwolves’ Game 4 loss to Nuggets

To be fair to Kendrick Perkins, Rudy Gobert looked a bit shook during the Timberwolves’ Game 4 loss on Sunday night. Minnesota’s number-one ranked defense is centered on his elite ability to protect the rim, and if he cannot slow Nikola Jokic down (Jokic had 35 on Sunday), then the Timberwolves will have to send more help towards the paint, freeing up Denver’s shooters. That is not exactly ideal, especially when Aaron Gordon has been popping off.

Rudy Gobert is not a fan of Aaron Gordon’s monster game

The Nuggets are hard to beat when Aaron Gordon, quite literally, cannot miss. Gordon is the worst shooter (by percentage) in their vaunted starting lineup, so the tendency for teams to do is to park their rim protector on him so they could make use of the said rim protector’s best skill. For the Timberwolves, that means putting Rudy Gobert on Gordon for extended periods.

Gordon has embraced his role; if the Timberwolves defense is going to give up open shots, then he best be prepared to take them. And not only has he taken those shots with confidence, he has drilled them with ease as well. On Sunday, Gordon made 11 of his 12 shots from the field, including both of his three-pointers, prompting Gobert to say that the Timberwolves will have to live with the Nuggets highflyer turning into Kobe Bryant.

But it might not be fair to pin all of the blame on Rudy Gobert for the way Aaron Gordon played on Sunday night. Credit, of course, has to go to Gordon for playing his heart out, but it’s not like the other Timberwolves players are blameless.

Timberwolves’ Game 4 loss carried an all too familiar sight

Rudy Gobert certainly has his weaknesses on defense. He is not as mobile as Bam Adebayo is on the perimeter (who is?), so there are times when he’s vulnerable to being cooked by shifty guards who can score from all three levels. But the Timberwolves’ Game 4 loss is certainly on to be blamed on him solely like Kendrick Perkins implied.

“Isn’t Rudy Gobert the Defensive Player of the Year? Why is it all the time he’s the DPOY in the regular season but a defensive liability come playoff time?” Perkins asked with conviction.

Is Gobert a defensive liability? In Game 4, Aaron Gordon was doing damage against the Timberwolves’ other defenders such as Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Kyle Anderson. Gordon was beating his defenders off the dribble, and he promptly kicked the ball out to open shooters, which is why he ended up with six assists on the night.

Gobert was then usually defending a knockdown shooter like Michael Porter Jr., or Nikola Jokic, both of whom he cannot leave wide open for the sake of helping. If he does, he’ll concede an open three to a high-percentage marksman.

If the Timberwolves cannot contain dribble penetration or prevent the ball from getting into the paint, then it’s always going to be difficult to stop an elite Nuggets offense built around Jokic. The Utah Jazz of yore ended up having the same problems around Gobert; the Timberwolves have a much better cast of perimeter defenders, but they will now have to toughen up to give Gobert the requisite perimeter cover he needs to be his best self.