Once the move happened and Minnesota opted to leave Rudy Gobert on an island with Luka Doncic and the game was on the line, we all knew what was going to happen. “When he started dancing with Gobert, you could tell the step back was coming,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said.
It wasn’t just the shot, it was Doncic’s venom and trash talk that made it a moment.
Doncic was asked about that postgame by ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.
MacMahon: “So [Gobert] Can’t I watch you?”
Doncic: “Who said that?”
MacMahon: “You said that.”
Doncic: “
I did not say that. I spoke Slovenian,” after which Doncic flashed a huge grin because we all knew.
A lot of people – led by TNT’s little Draymond Green – love to bash Gobert whenever they get the chance, and this was an opportunity. It’s wrong. First, Minnesota’s coaching staff strangely chose to leave Gobert on an island with one of the biggest clutch scorers in the game, rather than force the ball out of his hands with a double and challenge someone else to get them defeat. Gobert did enough to take away Doncic’s favorite step back to the left, but over the past year Doncic has improved his step back to the right and broken out here. Maybe Gobert could have kept a closer eye on him, but we’re looking for reasons to shade Gobert when the fact is that Doncic hit a brilliant and difficult shot.
Additionally, Minnesota is winning Gobert minutes this series – they are +11 with him on the court through two games and were +1 with him in Game 2. They need his rim protection.
None of that matters. The distaste for Gobert in parts of the NBA fandom is great – and Doncic clearly shares that. No matter what language he speaks.
