The Play-in Tournament, where the Timberwolves will face LeBron James, starts in two days.
The Minnesota Timberwolves could not have timed it worse.
Or maybe, it was just a matter of time for these problems to come out.
On Monday morning, Manila time, the problems burst out as T’wolves teammates Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson were seen in a heated exchange during the first half of their 113-108 home game win against the New Orlean Pelicans. Just a few seconds later, Gobert swung at Anderson.
Veteran NBA reporter Kevin O’Connor himself was surprised. It’s not everyday you see teammates throwing punches at each other—on the bench.
Reports say Anderson and Gobert were exchanging sharp words, and it may have included criticism on the big man’s play. The French center was first listed as questionable for the game due to back spasms, but Gobert ended up playing—presumably through the injury.
The eye test showed he wasn’t 100%.
It seems like, however, the tension between the two was due to spill over. In a previous interview by reporter Chris Hine, Gobert said that Anderson is sometimes “a little aggressive in the way he talks.”
The French big man, who did not finish the game as the Timberwolves sent him home after the incident, has since apologized.
“Emotions got the best of me today. I should not have reacted the way i did regardless of what was said,” Gobert tweeted.
Minnesota’s problems, however, do not end there. In the same game, starter Jaden McDaniels suffered a hand fracture. He was seen punching a wall on the way to the locker room during halftime.
McDaniels, who started all 78 games he played for the Timberwolves this season, is a candidate to make the NBA All-Defensive teams.
Despite all these, Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards played well enough to bring the win over New Orleans, and clinch the eighth-best record in the West and a spot in the Play-in Tournament.
They will need to regroup, quickly at that, as they play the Los Angeles Lakers led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis on Wednesday.