Did the Minnesota Timberwolves offer the premonition to their soon-to-be NBA playoffs run?
The Timberwolves finished their mediocre regular season Sunday against the New Orleans Pelicans. But despite being positioned to be rewarded for doing the least in regular-season play, Minnesota is already crumbling before having ever played a minute in the playoffs.
It all began during a timeout in the second quarter when notorious league enemy Rudy Gobert lived up to his reputation once again. Yet, unlike his previous on-court antics, Gobert proved to not limit his targets to opposing players. The 30-year-old, while chatting in disagreement with Kyle Anderson during a timeout, swung his right arm and took a shot at his teammate.
This sparked a reaction from the Timberwolves' bench, causing teammates to get involved and separate the two to prevent further escalation. But Minnesota (understandably) wasn't too impressed with Gobert's immaturity and took action afterward.
Gobert was sent home right after instigating the altercation and ruled out for the remainder of the game, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
But the madness didn't end there as the Timberwolves continued their self-inflicted harm, following Gobert's lead.
Minnesota forward Jaden McDaniels punched a wall, which was spotted during the live broadcast, and it was also proven to be costly. McDaniels was ruled out for the remainder of the game after playing just nine minutes and suffered a fractured hand, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
McDaniels clenched his injured fist while other members of the Timberwolves kept their season finale sustainable, defeating the Pelicans, 113-108 to finish the campaign barely above .500 at 42-40.
The Timberwolves finished as the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference and will face the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Play-In Tournament on Tuesday night.
