The Minnesota Timberwolves have started the 2026-27 season looking like a team built for speed. LaMelo Ball has given them the kind of high-octane playmaking they wanted, and Anthony Edwards has been freed up to do what he does best: score. Through four games, Edwards was putting up 33.3 points per contest, and Minnesota had won three of those four by comfortable margins.
That picture has changed quickly. Edwards is now expected to miss up to two months after arthroscopic knee surgery, and the timing could not be worse as the Timberwolves try to hold things together. Heading into Friday night’s NBA Cup matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota had dropped two straight, and the warning signs were beginning to show.
The bigger issue may be the one that could haunt them all season long: the frontcourt tradeoff they made to chase this faster identity. Minnesota moved on from Naz Reid and Julius Randle this offseason, two bigs who gave the team a heavier, more physical style.
It wasn’t pretty, but it worked. By clearing them out, the Timberwolves put a ton on Rudy Gobert’s shoulders - rebounding, rim protection, and all the dirty work in the middle.
For a long time, that kind of load made sense. Gobert has spent years as one of the league’s defensive anchors, and Minnesota trusted that his presence would keep the drop-off manageable while the rest of the roster got retooled.
But he is 34 now, and the wear is starting to matter. Since breaking through as a true defensive force in the 2014-15 season, Gobert has played at least 65 games in 10 of the past 12 seasons, including each of the last eight.
The defense has still been excellent. Through five games, Minnesota ranks second in defensive rating at 102.5 points allowed per 100 possessions.
But Gobert’s offense has become a real problem. He’s averaging just 6.6 points per game on 37.0% shooting from the field.
That number is not a typo. Twenty of his 27 shot attempts this season have come from inside five feet, and he has made only eight of them. According to NBA.com, he nearly has as many blocked shots at the rim - seven - as made baskets from that range.
Gobert has never been asked to carry a scoring load, but his offensive value has always come from one basic thing: finishing around the basket. Entering this season, he had made 65.8% of his field-goal attempts for his career. Right now, though, he has missed his last 13 shots from the floor.
The recent slump has included a rough 0-for-9 night against the Cleveland Cavaliers, which at least came against Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. But the 0-for-4 showing against the Golden State Warriors stood out even more, especially with Draymond Green at center in a small-ball look. Gobert ended up playing only 20 minutes in that game, and his lack of impact on offense was hard to ignore.
There was also the matter of the three-pointers. Seeing Gobert fire away from deep is jarring, and one of those attempts came with 18 seconds left on the shot clock. It’s the kind of shot that makes you stop and ask what he was thinking.
Jaden McDaniels was STUNNED Rudy Gobert pulled a three with 18 seconds left on the shot clock 😭 pic.twitter.com/Fg5s7Hgjpn
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) October 27, 2026
Maybe he’s trying to stretch his game as he gets older. Brook Lopez didn’t turn into a full-time stretch five until his 11th season, after all.
But Gobert has always been a paint-first center, and his touch around the rim has never been his calling card. He lives on lobs, dunks, and putbacks, not finesse scoring.
With a career 63.2% mark from the free-throw line, a sudden leap to long-range shooting seems unlikely.
And that’s where the real issue lands for Minnesota. If Gobert stays this limited offensively, opposing teams can just load up on the Timberwolves’ perimeter scorers and leave him waiting in the dunker’s spot. They can go smaller, switch more freely, and ignore the threat of Gobert as a scorer.
He will still be a strong defender. His positioning and timing remain elite. But if his offense keeps slipping, the Timberwolves may find that the imbalance is too much to overcome when they’re trying to chase a title.
In Other News...
Rudy Gobert Just Added To A Growing Wolves Concern
With Anthony Edwards sidelined for at least two months and the Timberwolves already sitting through a two-game losing streak, the pressure on the offense has only sharpened. Rudy Gobert has become part of that conversation after a recent stretch in which coach Chris Finch took aim at the centers finesse finishes around the rim, a reminder that Minnesota needs cleaner, more forceful scoring in the paint while one of its top creators is out.
Gobert did not push back on the critique. He agreed with Finchs assessment and said he wants to be more decisive around the basket, which leaves the Wolves with another layer to sort through as they try to steady themselves without Edwards. For a team already searching for answers, the details around Goberts interior play suddenly feel more important than they might have a week ago. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves Just Put Cody Williams In A Tough Spotlight
The Timberwolves are locking in on two rookies they feel have already earned a longer look, exercising their team options for Terrence Shannon Jr. and Joan Beringer for the 2027/28 season. Both have contributed as expected in the current season, giving Minnesota some clarity as it tries to manage its roster and cap space without losing track of young talent that has fit into the rotation.
Cody Williams is the odd man out in that process, and it leaves his next step hanging over the rest of the year. His struggles have made the front office cautious about the price tag attached to another season, especially with the team watching its cap situation closely, and if he finishes out his current contract, hell be headed toward a much less certain summer. [Read more 🡒]
Jonathan Kuminga Is Giving Timberwolves Fans A New Reason To Watch
Jonathan Kuminga has started giving Timberwolves fans a little extra reason to keep an eye on the bench and the box score, especially with Anthony Edwards sidelined and more minutes opening up around the lineup. In Minnesotas 119-114 loss to the Warriors, Kuminga put together one of his most productive outings yet, reaching a season-high while continuing to carve out a larger role as a scorer and disruptor for this group.
There was also some edge to the matchup beyond the numbers, with Kumingas night carrying a little more charge against his former team. He has been flashing the kind of all-around impact Minnesota hoped for when the playing time increased, averaging 13.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.0 steals this season, and the bigger question now is how much of this surge can stick once the Wolves get back to full strength. [Read more 🡒]