Rudy Gobert scorched NBA officials Wednesday night over his displeasure regarding calls the Minnesota Timberwolves’ have been getting during their current West Coast road trip.
Gobert didn’t mince words in the hours after the Timberwolves’ seven-point loss to the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center. The Wolves went to the free-throw line 12 times compared to the Suns’ 27 trips.
“It’s bulls--t. Bulls--t. It’s not fair. It’s really not fair," Gobert passionately explained [h/t Chris Hine]. "Every night. I’ve been in this league for 10 years and I try to always give the benefit of the doubt, but it’s hard for me to think they’re not trying to help [Phoenix] win tonight.”
That was a theme of the road trip for the 7-foot-1 center.
“It’s hard for me to think they didn’t try to help the Warriors win the other night or Sacramento Kings the other night," Gobert said. "It’s just so obvious. As a basketball player that’s been in this league for so long, it’s disrespectful and it sucks, to be honest.
“We work so hard to be in a position to compete with the best, and we just get manipulated into those situations where it just impacts the game for the other team too much.”
Minnesota attempted eight more free-throw attempts than the Warriors in their 99-96 victory Sunday night at Chase Center. Gobert was visibly upset when his offensive foul in the third quarter was upgraded to a Flagrant 1.
Golden State Warriors
In the Timberwolves’ 119-115 win over the Kings on Monday, Sacramento did attempt six more free throws than Minnesota.
The Wolves are tied with the Detroit Pistons for the most personal fouls (1,676) committed in the NBA this season. The Warriors (1,654) are right behind those two teams while the Kings have committed the 10th-fewest fouls (1,497). (Of course, it’s a different story once the game reaches the final two minutes, as Kings fans know all too well.)
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“We understand that we’re not the biggest of markets and we’re a team that -- I think you want to see [Kevin Durant] in the playoffs, Steph [Curry] in the playoffs; you want to see LeBron [James] in the playoffs.
“Timberwolves are not there yet. We got to keep putting our head down, keep playing through that and it’s frustrating for sure, especially for me.”
The NBA has yet to fine Gobert for his comments slandering officials, but his wallet likely will be much lighter when the Timberwolves take on the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday at Target Center.