In a surprising move, Rudy Gobert hadn’t seen much floor time in France’s quarterfinal victory over Canada. Not only did he play just three minutes, France head coach, Vincent Collet had the 4x DPOY come off the bench. Almost like the Steve Kerr-Jayson Tatum scenario, there was a heavy debate on Gobert’s diminished minutes. Of course, by now, you would be aware of the contrasting reasons cited by the coach and his player.

A finger injury was Gobert’s side of the story. But Collet mentioned it was a matchup decision. Real Madrid forward, Guerschon Yabusele, had taken the place of ‘Stifle Tower’. And as per Coach Collet, “Putting Guerschon (Yabusele) in place of Rudy (Gobert) was already decided before (Gobert) hurt his finger.” 

With France managing to root out Canada to get to the semifinals, what will become of Rudy Gobert? The Timberwolves center revealed via the French daily, L’Equipe that the severity of his injury wasn’t that serious. So does that mean he will go back to his starting position? Well, it could go both ways. And here’s why.

For one, it provided a strategic advantage. Explaining his rotation choice vs Canada, Collet said, “They play small ball. I wanted Wemby to start at five, that’s why I put Yabusele at four.” Furthermore, in his chat with FIBA basketball, he added, “The idea was for Victor to start the game at the pivot, especially since Canada left (Dillion) Brooks on him. This also provided more space for Guerschon.”

Although the matchup perspective seems to be the primary reason, it looks like Gobert’s injury did factor into the final decision.

Coach Collet did take into account the injury factor in his Rudy Gobert decision

“I know he [Rudy Gobert] has pain in his finger despite the surgeon saying he could play. He didn’t know exactly, but finally, this morning, he said, ‘I can play.’ My idea was to protect him if I could do it. As it was working well with the other big men, I preferred to keep him on the bench. He will be ready for the next game,” Coach Collet detailed.

While the 61-year-old acknowledged the injury, there was no mention of surgery anywhere. In fact, all Collet said was the 3x NBA All-Star had an MRI on his finger, after which he was cleared to play. So, it still leaves us scratching our heads as to what the OG source, a.k.a, Rudy Gobert, meant when he said that he was “on the operating table.”

Whatever the reason, the one takeaway is Vincent Collet’s confirmation that the Saint-Quentin native will be ready for the next game. Whether that will be as a starter or not is debatable. And even if he were to take the floor, the chances that Gobert might once again play limited minutes seems a likely scenario.

What are your thoughts on the matter? Let us know in the comments.

 Before you go, do not forget to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Asia Avinger.