On April 11, Beijing time, the Timberwolves officially announced that due to yesterday's incident (punching Li Kyle), Gobert will be banned by the team for one game and will not participate in tomorrow's play-off game against the Lakers. In addition, the Timberwolves officially updated Jayden McDaniels' injury, his third and fourth metacarpal fractures, the current state is indefinite suspension, and he will not play against the Lakers. Is the absence of the two main players really good news for the Lakers to hit the playoffs?
Gobert is suspended, and the Lakers may not be good
Before the official announcement of the Timberwolves, Woj reported that the Timberwolves would ban Gobert for one game, and Gobert did not travel to Los Angeles with the team and would not play in the playoffs with the Lakers. If the Timberwolves lose to the Lakers, Gobert is expected to play in the next play-off game.
Woj also reported on the Timberwolves' attitude to the incident: Gobert punched teammate Li Kyle and the team had to ban him for one game, but the team also admitted that Gobert's punch hit Li Kyle in the chest and had no intention of hurting him, and that on the night he played with an injury, Li Kyle repeatedly called him "bitch".
Data media StatMuse quickly posted a comparison of the Timberwolves' win percentage with or without Gobert this season: the Timberwolves won 48.6% with Gobert and 66.7% without Gobert.
Gobert participated in all three games against the Lakers this season, the Timberwolves are 2-1, and Gobert is doing well, averaging 19.3 points and 15.3 rebounds per game, especially in the game on October 29 last year, Gobert bombed the Lakers with 22 points and 21 rebounds.
Is Gobert's suspension good for the Lakers? It's hard to say. After all, if the Timberwolves can't help but play Gobert, the atmosphere of the team may be even more weird, affecting the unity of the team and naturally affecting the fighting effectiveness. If Gobert doesn't play, maybe the Timberwolves can let go, as they did in the second half of the game against the Pelicans.
Coupled with Gobert's recent back injury and poor performance against the Pelicans, his playing may have dragged down the Timberwolves.
The Titan fractured and missed, James is more difficult to prevent?
Compared to Gobert, the inability of Timberwolves titan McDaniels to play may be real good news for the Lakers. Averaging 12.1 points and 39.8 percent three-point shooting so far this season, McDaniels is already seen as a very good 3-D player in the league, and without his defense, the core of the Lakers, especially James, may have played better.
McDaniels was in midfield against the Pelicans and fractured his right hand when he pounded the wall angrily, and X-rays confirmed the specific injury, which is expected to be reimbursed this season. According to sources, McDaniels wanted to pound the curtain and did not know that there was a concrete wall behind the curtain. He has apologized to the team and is willing to take responsibility.
His role on the defensive end is clear, and the data shows that James only played 5-of-16 (31.3 percent) against McDaniels, while against the Timberwolves this season, James shot 17-of-43 from the field, meaning that James shot 12-of-27 (44.4 percent) against McDaniels. In the play-offs, the 38-year-old superstar is expected to explode.
According to the league's schedule, the Timberwolves will play the Lakers on April 12 at 10 a.m., and the winner of this game will be the No. 7 seed in the West to face the Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs, while the losing side will compete with the winner of another Western Conference playoff game for a spot in the final Western Conference playoffs.