For years now, Gobert has been a safety net for Minnesota when things aren’t going well, particularly against cellar dwellers. His interior dominance creates a high floor. If opponents can’t score at the rim and have to battle for every rebound, Minnesota automatically becomes three times more difficult to beat.

Conley’s Minnesota Timberwolves were in Crypto.com Arena on Feb. 27, Dončić’s sixth game in a Lakers uniform. Even though Dončić wasn’t particularly sharp, the Lakers cruised to a 111-102 victory. Long after the visiting locker room cleared out,

The Minnesota Timberwolves spent Game 5 in a dismal shooting funk, providing the Los Angeles Lakers with ample opportunity to stave off playoff elimination.While his teammates struggled, Rudy Gobert stepped up against the small-ball Lakers — and on their big man's shoulders,