Rudy Gobert Out for Wolves vs. Nuggets Game 2 of NBA Playoffs After Birth of Child

Minnesota Timberwolves starting center Rudy Gobert will miss Game 2 of the team's Western Conference Semifinals matchup against the Denver Nuggets on Monday night following the birth of his first child, a baby boy, earlier in the morning.

Head coach Chris Finch confirmed the news shortly before game time:

ESPN's Tim MacMahon first reported the center would be questionable for the game.

The Timberwolves currently lead the series, 1-0.

Losing Gobert is a major (though understandable, given the circumstances) blow for the Wolves against the defending champions. The ability to throw big bodies like Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid at Nikola Jokić gives the Wolves a defensive edge over most teams, though the likely MVP still managed to put up 32 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in Game 1.

It didn't come easy, however.

"To have a duplicate clone of myself, and then I could be fresh when they sub another guy, I'm gonna be fresh," Jokić said when asked how the Nuggets could better handle the defensive trio the Wolves rotated against him, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

"I think that's why they're good," he added. "They can play big, they can play small... they're long, physical, they rebound really well, they're aggressive. I'm satisfied with the shots that I took, some of them I miss, some of them I made."

Gobert, 31, put up six points, 13 boards, three blocks and a steal in the 106-99 win.

A year ago, the Nuggets eliminated the Timberwolves in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs, needing just five games to do so.

But these Wolves are more experienced, deeper, have Reid healthy—he missed last season's series with a fractured his left wrist—and have benefitted from the continued development of 22-year-old superstar Anthony Edwards, who is averaging 33.4 points through five postseason games.

The Nuggets aren't about to go down without a fight, and Gobert's absence in Game 2 would make the Wolves far less intimidating on defense. But these Wolves look primed to test the defending champions in a major way this series.