Wolves' Game 6 win can't stop Draymond Green's weird fixation with Rudy Gobert

Green had some more stupid things to say about Gobert following Thursday's blowout.

Nov 12, 2023; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) / Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Whether the Timberwolves win or lose, you can count on Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green — who’s on his couch watching the playoffs, and has been for weeks — continuing his bizarre fixation with Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert. 

Green ripped on Gobert on TNT following the Timberwolves’ loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 5 of their Western Conference semifinal series on Tuesday. Nikola Jokic went off for 40 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds while not even recording a turnover in a 112-97 win over the Wolves, with Green calling out Gobert, whom he said needed to go out there and get a stop. 

Now, apparently at that point in time, Green didn’t realize the Timberwolves don’t primarily match up with Gobert on Jokic. That’s a matchup typically reserved for fellow big man Karl-Anthony Towns. Evidently, he was made aware of that following the Timberwolves’ blowout Game 6 win over the Nuggets in which the Timberwolves held Jokic to 22 points, nine rebounds and two assists. 

So did Green think to give Gobert or Towns any flowers for that performance? 

Nope.

“We sitting here breaking down KAT having to stop Joker, who’s a center. And a Defensive Player of the Year is on your team, and he a center,” Green said on The Draymond Green Show on Friday. “Very interesting how the cookie crumbles.” 

“There’s a center who won DPOY and we asking KAT to go guard the center”

—@Money23Green on KAT guarding Jokić pic.twitter.com/i1wedhirxE

— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) May 17, 2024

Green likened the situation to having Marcus Smart, who won the Defensive Player of the Year Award with the Boston Celtics in 2021-22, and instead asking Jaylen Brown to guard Warriors superstar Steph Curry. Point guards should guard point guards. There was perhaps a better example out there, like having a team that has Draymond Green and asking Andre Iguodala to guard LeBron James.  

“I love the game within the game more than anything,” Green said on his podcast. “When I’m watching these games, I’m watching the game within the game. And I can’t help but notice like there is a center that won Defensive Player of the Year and we asking KAT, go guard the center.” 

Green evidently doesn’t watch the game within the game too closely. If he did, he’d understand how valuable it is to have Towns guard Jokic to keep Gobert in position to cut off weakside driving lanes, and of course, be ready to provide help to Towns on Jokic. For reference, see Game 6.

And perhaps this is a novel thought, but Timberwolves coach Chris Finch and his staff, who coached the team that boasted the top-ranked defense in the entire league, may have a reason for matching up Towns against Jokic. As they say, maybe there's a method behind the madness.

Meanwhile, Gobert was a plus-30 in Thursday night's blowout victory. That ensures the Wolves and Gobert will see the court again on Sunday for Game 7 against the Nuggets. Where will Green be? Oh yeah, on his couch. Or perhaps he'll hop on to TNT again to trash talk Gobert, who will go down as the best defensive player of this generation.