The Timberwolves are one loss from elimination, and their biggest problem isn’t Victor Wembanyama’s scoring — it’s the man they’re using to stop him. Four points. Five rebounds. In a must-win environment, on the biggest stage of the season, Rudy Gobert was a ghost. And the NBA world noticed.

“I think you’ve got to make a lineup change. I love Rudy Gobert, I love what he’s stood for throughout his career, but if he’s not going to get you anything in the post, if he’s going to struggle offensively, to me, their best lineup is when they go small, bring in Naz Reid. Now that takes Victor away from the paint. Minnesota is so good when they can get into the paint and attack. They can’t do that when Rudy is on the floor,” Miller said on the broadcast.

That’s not a casual suggestion from a casual observer. That’s a Hall of Fame shooting guard telling Chris Finch, on live national television, that his four-time Defensive Player of the Year is becoming a liability.

Game 5 blew that reality wide open. The Spurs took a 3-2 series lead with a 29-point blowout win, 126—97, and the margin for error no longer exists for Minnesota. On one end, they have to worry about minimizing Victor Wembanyama. The only traditional solution to the 7’4″ problem is Rudy Gobert – a four-time DPOY whose value surged after his sensational job guarding Nikola Jokic. But this isn’t Denver. And as Miller made painfully clear, Gobert’s defensive ceiling is no longer enough to justify his offensive floor.

The logic is blunt. Gobert offers no spacing, no individual shot creation. He can finish plays, but when Wembanyama’s wingspan puts him within blocking range of virtually every angle, Rudy’s offensive limitations become impossible to hide.
This isn’t without precedent.

The 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers famously went small in the NBA Finals, benching Timofey Mozgov in favor of a Tristan Thompson–led lineup that unlocked LeBron’s drives and Kyrie’s pull-ups. The 2022 Golden State Warriors used Jordan Poole’s pace to shrink bigger, slower centers into irrelevance. Spacing isn’t just a trend – it’s a Finals formula. And right now, Minnesota is playing against one of the most switchable, versatile big men in NBA history. Static, non-shooting centers tend to become traffic cones.

Internally, the Timberwolves feel strength when they see Gobert protecting the paint. He can anchor a great defense, a hard skill to acquire. But there are offensive holes in his game that create an imbalance when matched up against Wembanyama. The Spurs’ cornerstone doesn’t have to react much.

Reid does the opposite. He’s outscored Gobert in every game this series. The Wolves’ uber-talented center can stretch the floor. Wembanyama can’t just sit inside the paint and leave him wide open. He’s made 12 triples in the five games, and shoots 36.2% for the season. With Reid, the Wolves can achieve greater spacing, integral for the talent they possess, while attacking the rim.

With Naz Reid on the floor, the Wolves have shot almost 40% from beyond the arc. Additionally, they convert better from the charity stripe, another downside to Rudy Gobert’s offensive involvement. Reid won’t hold Wembanyama to 11 points as Rudy Gobert did in Game 1. But if he can keep the Spurs star invested, and tire him out without needing the ball, the Timberwolves could have an opening.

The change is necessary to create balance. Nobody is, and nobody should, undermine Rudy Gobert’s impact. He has shown a variety of colors in this single playoff run alone. But tonight, the Timberwolves didn’t have the answers.

Anthony Edwards praises Victor Wembanyama’s performance

After being ejected in Game 4, Victor Wembanyama didn’t come to indulge in games. He was focused: his only objective was winning Game 5 at home. Wemby began the flurry very early, scoring 18 points in the opening quarter. He did that and grabbed six rebounds, all in just eight minutes.

Little had to be said about what went wrong from there. It was only a four-point advantage for the Spurs at the end of the first. But the Timberwolves were disturbed watching the freakish Spurs center torch their compact defense with ease.

“I mean, tonight, some of the stuff Wemby was doing, you don’t really have an answer for it. Just kinda hoped he misses, he came out hot and made shots… Eventually, they created another lead,” Anthony Edwards said about Victor Wembanyama.

The Spurs used Wemby’s gravity to handle the rest of the game from that point on. He only added nine points to his tally. Yet, the Spurs ended up with six double-digit scorers, scoring 68 points in the paint. This wasn’t down to Rudy Gobert not being able to match up against Wembanyama. This was one of those days where the 7’4” brutal center decided to do everything he could.