Gobert has found a kinship with Randle, who was a career 34-percent shooter in the playoffs in his career before emerging as the offensive stabilizer in his first season in Minnesota. Randle averaged 22.6 points per game in the series and shot 48 percent from the field and 39 percent from 3.

Rudy Gobert had playoff career highs of 27 points and 24 rebounds, Julius Randle added 23 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves advanced in the NBA playoffs with a 103-96 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 of their first-round series.

For years now, Gobert has been a safety net for Minnesota when things aren’t going well, particularly against cellar dwellers. His interior dominance creates a high floor. If opponents can’t score at the rim and have to battle for every rebound, Minnesota automatically becomes three times more difficult to beat.