Rudy Gobert’s latest two-game stretch has been a welcome sight for the Timberwolves, but it hasn’t wiped away the questions hanging over his offense.
At 34 and in his 14th season, Gobert is starting to show the kind of slight decline that comes with time. His 10.9 points per game in 2025-26 are his lowest in a decade, and while the four-time Defensive Player of the Year remains an elite rim protector, he may not be quite at that same DPOY peak anymore.
The bigger issue has been what Gobert has done - or not done - on the other end. Early in the season, he was missing shots at the rim that he usually buries, and he was also dropping and fumbling passes that should have been routine. Minnesota brought in LaMelo Ball with the hope that it would create more easy scoring chances for Gobert, but that hasn’t really happened.
Still, the last two games have at least looked more like the Rudy Gobert the Wolves are used to seeing. He’s not going to be a 20-point scorer very often, but efficiency has always been part of his game, and that’s started to show again. Over his last two outings, Gobert is 8-for-9 from the field, pushing his field goal percentage to exactly 50 percent.
That matters because his early-season numbers were so out of character. Gobert has led the league in field goal percentage four times in his career, including in 2025-26, and a player who has hit more than 65 percent of his shots for his career simply should not have been sitting at 42.6 percent through his first eight appearances. The catches have looked cleaner lately, and the finishing has followed.
But the offensive concern hasn’t disappeared just because the shooting has improved over a small sample. Gobert has scored only 18 points total in his last two games, and those came against the New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz.
That’s not enough to say the problem is solved, especially with the tougher matchups still ahead. Teams are going to keep ignoring him in big moments until he proves they can’t, and that remains a real question.
Free throws are still part of the problem, too. Gobert went just 2-for-6 from the line over those two games, and the broader trend is ugly.
He has never had a season in which he shot 70 percent or better from the stripe, but last season marked a real drop-off, and it has only gotten worse through his first 10 games this year. He’s 22-for-53, or 41.5 percent, from the free-throw line.
That opens the door for a playoff coach to intentionally foul him and force Minnesota into a mess. If that happens, the Wolves’ offense could bog down fast.
There have even been moments when teammates have seemed frustrated with him. Gobert will need more than two good games - and probably more volume, too - before anyone can say the early-season concerns have truly gone away.
In Other News...
Timberwolves Defense Is Forcing A Bigger Conversation About Their Ceiling
The early shape of Minnesotas season has been defined by a defense that has given opponents very little room to breathe. Even with Anthony Edwards missing several games, the Timberwolves have built an 8-3 start on the back of a unit that has consistently bothered ballhandlers, closed off clean looks from deep and made every possession feel like a grind.
What makes it more interesting is that this is no longer just about surviving while the offense finds its footing. The Wolves have been good enough on that end to force a bigger conversation about how high their ceiling can go if the defensive standard holds, especially once the roster is whole and the attack catches up. [Read more 🡒]
Ayo Dosunmu Explained Whats Fueling His Timberwolves Surge
Ayo Dosunmu has settled into a much bigger role since Anthony Edwards went down with a knee injury, and the early returns have been hard to miss. The guard has brought a sharper scoring punch to the starting lineup, while also giving Minnesota a steadier decision-making presence. Over the last stretch, his shot-making has been efficient enough to stand out even in a rotation that has had to adjust on the fly.
Chris Finch and Dosunmu both pointed to the same broader theme behind the uptick: the way the offense is opening up around him. With Rudy Gobert setting strong screens and helping create cleaner looks at the rim, Dosunmu has found more room to operate and more chances to attack in rhythm. For a Timberwolves team trying to keep its footing through an injury-driven shuffle, that kind of fit matters, even if the full picture of how long it lasts is still to be determined. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves Make A Frontcourt Move With Anthony Edwards Still Out
With Anthony Edwards still sidelined by a knee injury, the Timberwolves have added some frontcourt depth as they try to keep their strong start rolling. Minnesota brought in Johni Broome on a two-way deal, a move that gives the club another developmental big while it waits for one of its top scorers to return.
Broome arrives with some recent NBA experience after spending time with the 76ers and Clippers, and he was the 35th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. For a Wolves team trying to hold steady through Edwards absence, the addition is a low-risk way to shore up the roster and see whether Broome can carve out a role while the lineup is in flux. [Read more 🡒]