The Minnesota Timberwolves will be playing against the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight for the final spot in the Western Conference playoffs. As many NBA fans will be aware, the Wolves seem to be in a state of disarray following a physical altercation in a team huddle between Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson.
As a result of instigating a physical conflict, Gobert was suspended and did not play in a crucial game for the 7th seed against the Los Angeles Lakers, which the Wolves ended up losing. Fans should certainly want to know if he will be back on the court tonight against the Thunder. That said, let us take a look at the injury reports, expected rosters, and predicitions for this game.
Rudy Gobert is listed as questionable for the Minnesota Timberwolves vs Oklahoma City Thunder game tonight
It seems to be growing clearer with every game that Gobert is not as good a fit with the Wolves as fans expected. Although he is still an experienced shot blocker and rebounder, he is simply bad at perimeter defense and teams end up exploiting that. While it isn’t fair to blame him for the Timberwolves’ struggles this season, it is fair to say he didn’t do much to offset them.
As already mentioned, Gobert got into a heated exchange with his teammate Kyle Anderson. He ended up trying to strike him and instantly caused tensions to spike. The Wolves organization only decided to suspend him for one game for these actions. However, he is still listed on the injury report with a back injury for this game against the Thunder.
According to some reports, Gobert was already suffering this injury when he got into the fight. Whether he plays or not, the rest of his squad will have to step up if his team is looking to make the NBA playoffs. Here are the injury reports and expected rosters for this game.
Minnesota Timberwolves injury report
- Rudy Gobert (questionable)
- Jaylen Nowell (questionable)
- Karl-Anthony Towns (questionable)
- Jaden McDaniels (out)
- Naz Reid (out)
Minnesota Timberwolves expected roster
- Anthony Edwards
- Kyle Anderson
- Mike Conley Jr
- Taurean Prince
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker
Oklahoma City Thunder injury report
- Chet Holmgren (out)
- Kenrich Williams (out)
- Aleksej Pokusevski (out)
Oklahoma City Thunder expected roster
- Josh Giddey
- Luguentz Dort
- Jaylin Williams
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- Jalen Williams
As we can tell, there are several players on the Timberwolves whose health looks questionable for tonight’s matchup against the Thunder. Finally, here are the expert predictions for this match.
The Thunder are slightly favored over the Timberwolves tonight
It might just be safe to say that the move for Gobert has been a disaster. Not only did the Wolves pay a huge package for Rudy, but they also traded away D’Angelo Russell midway through this season. Both Rudy and KAT, who are listed as questionable with calf soreness don’t look completely good to go.
Although the young Thunder doesn’t have as experienced or star-studded a squad when compared to the Timberwolves, they are healthier and have the momentum since OKC is coming off a win against the New Orleans Pelicans.
If the Thunder does end up managing to win tonight, one could argue that they are one of the teams who have benefited from the new play-in system the most. After all, they ended the season as the 10th seed. But are now just one win away from finishing in the 8th spot.