So good since the All-Star break, Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert now returns to the NBA playoffs ready to show there’s still a place for the big man there. He has sometimes been minimized in his career by opponents who have taken him away from the basket — and out of the game — by going small.

Or can the veteran center be the solution? ‘Let’s see what happens over the course of hundreds … of possessions,’ he said.

Gobert has cemented himself as a top player for the Minnesota Timberwolves, and he embraces the underdog status they have against the Lakers.