The unexpectedly extended All-Star break for Rudy Gobert provided a necessary reset after an uneven start to the season with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Lakers can counter by playing Hayes more, or even Vanderbilt for defense and rebounding, but those lineups haven’t been as effective as their “Lasers Lineup” — two 40-plus 3-point shooters in Finney-Smith and Hachimura around their big three.

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.