Draymond Green subtly roasts Rudy Gobert for bench duty vs Canada: "We don't know what's true"
France punched their ticket to the semifinal round of the Olympic men's basketball tournament after defeating Canada 82-73. NBA star Rudy Gobert only played 3:41 minutes for France. Draymond Green talked about Gobert's benching and pointed out the two puzzling explanations for the coach's decision. Green also highlighted that France's coach needed to sit one of their two big men due to struggles on the court.
The Timberwolves center has been a prominent presence in France's men's team and has been their anchor defensively. However, yesterday's ball game marked a significant change in the rotation considering Gobert is an NBA big man.
Draymond Green's comments were shared by The Volume on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"France had a very interesting plot twist going on," Green said. "Big Rudy Gobert said he had surgery on his finger or something. France's coach said he thought the matchups was an issue. And so Rudy didn't start because of the matchups. We don't know what's true. ... And in the three minutes that Rudy played, Shai started getting off. ..."
Green understood the coach's decision to sit out Gobert over the Spurs' Victor Wembanyama, despite both centers having an off night. Wembanyama provided more speed and defensive versatility, not to mention his capability to do more offensively.
There is no definitive answer to explain why Gobert sat on the bench for most of the game. Whether it was due to an injury or a matchup disadvantage, France was still able to secure the hard-fought win over a hungry Canada team.
French coach revealed that Rudy Gobert undertook an MRI before the quarterfinal game against Canada
There have been several discussions surrounding the decision to bench Rudy Gobert after logging 3:41 minutes in the game. According to The Athletic's Sam Amick, France coach Vincent Collet addressed the reports that Gobert had surgery for his injured left ring finger that he sustained during practice.
However, he didn't back up the surgery report. Instead, he revealed that Rudy Gobert had a medical exam and an MRI, which caused the pain he felt.
"French coach Vincent Gollet indicates this wasn't surgery," Amick reported, "but an exam that included an MRI and caused Gobert pain. It was a factor — but not at all the factor — in his playing time. Collet wanted to go small(er). Gobert was cleared to play."
Collet wanted to run a smaller lineup that could match up to the speed of Canada's offensive system. While their opponent lacked size down low, they constantly put pressure at the rim with their guards' penetration ability.
France was able to hold off Canada's run in the fourth quarter, despite their star center Wembanyama shooting 2-of-10 from the field.