By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
After an incident during a crucial game against New Orleans Pelicans, Minnesota Timberwolves suspended Rudy Gobert, and the French center won’t play against Los Angeles Lakers in the play-in tournament, per Adrian Wojnarowski.
Gobert hit his teammate Kyle Anderson in the chest after a verbal altercation on the bench and immediately left the game without returning.
“We made the decision to send Rudy Gobert home after the incident in the second quarter,” Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said in a statement after the game. “His behavior on the bench was unacceptable, and we will handle the situation internally.”
Gobert will serve a one-game suspension and won’t be able to help his teammates in the play-in game against the Lakers, which will send the winner to a first-round playoff duel against the Memphis Grizzlies and the loser to a do-or-die match against the winner of New Orleans – Oklahoma City game, for the 8th seed and a match-up against the Denver Nuggets in the first playoffs round.
He is expected to return for a potential second play-in game or if the Wolves advance into the Western Conference playoffs with a win over the Lakers.
Timberwolves finished the regular season as 8th on the Western Conference standings, with Gobert playing 70 games, averaging 13,4 points and 11,6 rebounds.