Aside from letting out nearly a season's worth of frustration with his rant about officiating in Wednesday's loss to Phoenix, Rudy Gobert also had a little gamesmanship in his words.
The Timberwolves was undoubtedly trying to influence how referees are going to officiate the Wolves in the final five games of the regular season, a stretch in which the Wolves' place in the standings could swing wildly from as high as fourth or out of the play-in tournament altogether.
That stretch starts Friday night when the Los Angeles Lakers — and NBA career scoring leader LeBron James — come to town.