# @tipoffball on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DYF7W36DXQ5
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/65596337-tipoffball-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/625be12d3f.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-05-08T21:23:02.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** tipoffball (@tipoffball) — https://gondola.cc/tipoffball

## Caption

Rudy Gobert matchup data is always a little harder to interpret than it is for perimeter defenders because centers rarely “guard” players in the traditional sense for an entire possession. A lot of their value comes from what happens around the action rather than directly inside it. Rotations, deterrence, tagging rollers, helping at the rim, recovering back into drop coverage, shutting down driving lanes before the shot even happens. That’s part of why Gobert conversations end up so polarized. People look at a handful of possessions where he gets pulled away from the paint and treat it as the full picture, while ignoring the amount of possessions where offenses avoid certain shots entirely because he’s there.

This post looks at the players Gobert has actually spent the most time defending this season, along with a couple playoff matchups that have already become important in Minnesota’s defensive structure. Most of the names are interior bigs, screeners, rollers and paint-focused players because that’s still the environment Gobert impacts the most.

The numbers here are shown per 75 possessions instead of per game because matchup data gets distorted pretty quickly by pace, minutes and game flow. Per game stats can make certain matchups look larger simply because two teams played faster or because one game had extended minutes. Per 75 possessions puts the players on a more even baseline and gives a cleaner view of what those matchups actually looked like when they happened.

Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama, Jarrett Allen, Domantas Sabonis, Brook Lopez, Isaiah Hartenstein, Donovan Clingan, Jusuf Nurkic, Dereck Lively II, Quentin Post and Jock Landale all showing up here also says something about how Gobert is used defensively. Minnesota still treats him primarily as the backbone of the paint, even in a league that keeps trying to drag centers into more perimeter actions every year.

#nba #nbaplayoffs #minnesotatimberwolves #timberwolves #rudygobert

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 6,116
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 46

## Credits

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| tipoffball | @tipoffball | https://gondola.cc/tipoffball | Sports Media Outlet |
| Evan Porter | @Evan..porter | https://gondola.cc/Evan..porter | Social Media Manager |

## Tags

nbaplayoffs, timberwolves, rudygobert, nba, minnesotatimberwolves

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