The Minnesota Timberwolves may be without Rudy Gobert, the backbone of their defense, for Game 2 against the Denver Nuggets. Gobert was listed as questionable by the Timberwolves on Monday afternoon due to “personal reasons.”
UPDATED Minnesota @Timberwolves Status Report in advance of today’s Game 2 at Denver:
QUESTIONABLE
Gobert – Personal Reasons— Timberwolves PR (@Twolves_PR) May 6, 2024
Gobert was not at shootaround on Monday morning, and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported that no one on the team really knows if Gobert will play against the Nuggets.
From talking to Timberwolves folks, it sounds completely up in the air whether Rudy will be available tonight. https://t.co/dBmv9nVf6I
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) May 6, 2024
The Timberwolves didn’t elaborate on Gobert’s personal reasons, but Gobert is due to become a father for the first time any day now. He announced several months ago that he and his girlfriend Julia Bonilla were expecting their first child together.
Gobert and the Timberwolves were well aware that he might have to miss a playoff game for the birth of his child, and the team has been nothing but supportive of his choice to be at his girlfriend’s side for such an important life moment.
“I would do anything I can to be there,” Gobert told the Deseret News in March. “I don’t think there’s any debate to have. Coach Finch and every guy in this locker room, that’s what I love about them, we have a level of human connection and empathy for one another that I think is really good. And I think all the guys will be literally telling me, ‘Don’t play, go.’”
Now that time has come, and Gobert may indeed be going and not playing. After winning Game 1, doing the same in Game 2 may be a little more challenging for the Timberwolves.
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