NBA – Before his clash with Draymond, Rudy Gobert warned by his coach: “Just do this”.

Par Pierre-Andréa Fraile | Journaliste sportif

With just a few hours to go before the start of the Timberwolves-Warriors series, the duel between Rudy Gobert and Draymond Green is bound to be the talk of the town. In particular, Chris Finch was asked to weigh in on the subject and had some advice for his pivot.

Their mission is quite simple: to become the first team in these conference semi-finals to retain home-court advantage. Yes, there have been quite a few surprises in the second round of the playoffs so far. It remains to be seen whether the Timberwolves, for their part, will manage to uphold the hierarchy and honor their ranking, which was better than that of the Warriors at the end of the regular season.

Chris Finch warns Rudy Gobert about Draymond Green

Heralded as favorites in this series, the Wolves know that it will be no picnic. After all, Golden State are a threat to be reckoned with, especially now that Jimmy Butler has joined their ranks. They do, however, have an interesting weapon with which to disrupt their Californian rivals’ plans, namely Rudy Gobert. Chris Finch declared in a press conference:

Chris Finch: Rudy is always an X-factor for us. When he plays as well as he can, he takes us to the next level. There’s no doubt about that. The Warriors, on the other hand, are a small-ball team. It’s their superpower, it’s what they turn to when they want to be the best version of themselves. And we have to find ways to punish that.

Rudy’s activity on both sides of the court, close to the basket and on the offensive rebound will certainly be invaluable in this respect.

A key figure in his team’s success, Gobert will need to build on his impressive Game 5 performance against the Lakers. One Warrior, however, is likely to try and stop him – none other than Draymond Green.

It has to be said that the two men’s track records are as extensive as they are muscular, which explains the attention their upcoming reunion is generating. So how should the French pivot approach this unique confrontation? Quite simply, by not letting his emotions get the better of him, according to Finch:

Chris Finch: What would I say to him? “Just play basketball! We know that there’s going to be a big physical battle and that it’s going to border on the limits of what’s acceptable. There are bound to be things said, both on and off the floor. But all we have to do is stay focused on basketball. That’s what we have to do about it.

Rudy knows where he stands.