Western Notes: Gobert, Finch, Hardaway, Pelicans, OKC, Suns

Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert has been downgraded to questionable for Game 2 against the Nuggets on Monday night for personal reasons, tweets Sam Amick of The Athletic. According to Amick (Twitter link), based on conversations with Wolves officials, it sounds as if Gobert’s availability is “completely up in the air.” His status is believed to be related to the birth of his first child, as Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets.

Gobert only scored six points in Minnesota’s Game 1 victory, but played an important role in the win, grabbing 13 rebounds and blocking three shots. The Wolves were a +12 during his 35 minutes. If he ends up missing Game 2, it will negatively impact the team’s chances of taking a 2-0 lead back home to Minnesota.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

• Chris Finch‘s new spot on the sidelines worked out well in Game 1, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. The Timberwolves‘ head coach, who underwent knee surgery last Wednesday, had to sit next to the scorer’s table in the second row of the bench to protect his knee, but he had no issues communicating with his players. “It’s a little surreal just being that much separated from the action, if you will. But it was great,” Finch said. “I felt like I was in a safe place. I have utmost confidence in our staff and their ability. I thought they did an amazing job. Communicated well. Of course, it was all made better by a really good win. It’s our new reality. Just got to find a rhythm.”
• While the Mavericks will be without big man Maxi Kleber (shoulder) for their second-round series vs. Oklahoma City, another rotation player is set to return to action. Tim Hardaway Jr., who missed the last four games of the first round with a sprained ankle, will be available on Tuesday for Game 1, tweets Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News.
• The Pelicans and Thunder essentially began their rebuilding processes at the same time and were in similar positions five years ago, according to Christian Clark of NOLA.com, who considers how and why Oklahoma City has “zoomed ahead” of New Orleans since then.
• Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic spoke to several national NBA reporters – from ESPN, The Athletic, NBA.com, and other outlets – about what went wrong in Phoenix this season and how they might try to fix the Suns this summer.