I love when I don’t even have to try to find a good story for my passion blog. The Minnesota Timberwolves came in clutch for me on Sunday, the last day of the regular season. Fighting for the 8th seed in the West to secure 2 chances in the play-in tournament this week instead of just one, the Wolves had tensions high facing the New Orleans Pelicans, the team they were battling for the 8th slot. Unfortunately, the Wolves decided to release those tensions on each other, resulting in a broken hand, teammate punch (in a separate incident), and, miraculously, a win. On this final post for Real Housewives of the NBA, we discuss the total collapse of Minnesota in Game 82.
Let’s go chronologically. Jaden McDaniels, a lockdown defender for Minnesota, picked up a second foul in the first quarter, and proceeded to punch a wall in the locker room tunnel. That was a mistake, as it was announced shortly later that McDaniels had fractured his hand. It’s reasonable for tensions to be high in the playoff race, but punching a wall and rendering yourself inactive for the rest of the season is nary a good idea. McDaniels isn’t a superstar, but good defenders are a rare commodity and the Wolves will be playing LeBron James and (if they lose to LA) Brandon Ingram in a Pelicans rematch. It won’t be the first season-altering punch ever, and it definitely wasn’t the last one in this same game.
Rudy Gobert is not a popular man in the NBA. He was ridiculed for making light of COVID-19 (a day or two prior to it becoming big in the US) by touching microphones, and then promptly was the NBA’s first case shortly after. He was likely the source of trouble in Utah, which led to the Jazz blowing things up by dealing Gobert to Minnesota and Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland. He gets ragged on by other players for having one of the worst offensive skillsets in the league, and for winning perhaps undeserved Defensive Player of the Year Awards.
Gobert and teammate Kyle Anderson were arguing in the second quarter of this game, and things escalated quickly. I have to give a brief summary because otherwise I would have to censor every other word, but Anderson told Gobert to “please be quiet”, and Gobert reached out and punched Anderson in the chest. Teammate Taurean Prince rose from his seat and shoved Gobert back, and after some more words thrown around, Gobert was escorted to the locker room and sent home for the day. He later apologized on Twitter for his actions:
Emotions got the best of me today. I should not have reacted the way i did regardless of what was said. I wanna apologize to the fans, the organisation and particularly to Kyle, who is someone that i truly love and respect as a teammate.
— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) April 10, 2023
On Monday, it was announced he was suspended for Minnesota’s first playoff game on Tuesday. If Minnesota loses to the Lakers, they will play another game Wednesday in their last shot at making the playoffs. Gobert might be kind of trash, but he’s being paid $40 million and would ideally be on the floor for this game. I’m honestly shocked the Wolves were willing to suspend him given the circumstances.
This concludes Real Housewives of the NBA for the year. There were some weeks I didn’t always want to write an entry, but I chose a great topic that lasted the entirety of the academic year and gave me new, juicy headlines every week. I hope you’ve had fun reading and maybe learned something new this semester or year.
Wow! This was a crazy and action-packed time for Minnesota that made for a great final passion blog post! The team truly gave you plenty to work with. I’m still not over the fact that, as a major league basketball player, McDaniels decided that punching a solid wall was a good idea. It almost seems too ridiculous to happen in real life, but here we are. I’ve really enjoyed your posts throughout the semester and have certainly learned more about the chaos that is the NBA.
I’m happy this one was fun for you to write! I agree that the passion blogs can sometimes drag on if you can’t find an interesting story for that week, so it’s always nice to find something you’re really excited about.
It sounds like McDaniels, and especially Gobert, were extremely agitated in their situations, which makes sense seeing how they are experiencing pressure from all their viewers. I’ve definitely flipped out before too, but haven’t punched anyone or any walls yet. I hope they’re both doing well now, as it takes a lot to get to that level of frustration.
While I knew that NBA players made a ridiculous amount of money, I had no idea it was anywhere near $40 million dollars. I guess it is fitting for the amount of stress, training, and game readiness that is constantly expected of them. I actually made my first bet on the 76’ers the other day, and would have loved to have a blow by blow account of the playoffs from the view point of the Real Housewives of the NBA!!