Latest news with #ChrisFinch
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Chris Finch on learning from WCF loss
Chris Finch: 'We're going to go home and fight for Game 3' [RAW] Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch reacts after a 118-103 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals Thursday night. The Timberwolves are down 0-2 in the best-of-seven series as it shifts to Target Center Saturday night.
New York Times
5 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
The Timberwolves are out of the NBA playoffs. How do they build from this season?
The Minnesota Timberwolves are now out of the NBA playoffs. While they didn't exactly go down swinging in their 124-94 blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5, making back-to-back trips to the Western Conference finals is no small feat. They took down both the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors in five games, with Anthony Edwards adding LeBron James, Luka Dončić and Stephen Curry — despite him missing most of the series with a hamstring injury — to his list of elite players he and the Timberwolves have defeated. But the 68-win Thunder proved to be a step ahead. Advertisement On the latest episode of 'The Athletic NBA Daily,' Dave DuFour and Zena Keita were joined by Timberwolves beat writer Jon Krawczynski, as they broke down Game 5 and looked ahead to the offseason. They also discussed why the Timberwolves faltered in the Western Conference finals, what Edwards can learn from the series loss to Oklahoma City, whether Chris Finch could have done more to free up his star player, the need for Minnesota to add an additional ballhandler during the offseason and what was most memorable about this 2024-25 Timberwolves team. Watch the full episode of 'The Athletic NBA Daily' below or on the YouTube channel, or via the 'The Athletic NBA Daily' podcast feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. (Photo of Anthony Edwards: Zach Beeker / NBAE via Getty Images)
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Timberwolves' Chris Finch makes honest admission on Anthony Edwards' struggles
The post Timberwolves' Chris Finch makes honest admission on Anthony Edwards' struggles appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Minnesota Timberwolves are headed home after a blowout 124-94 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals on Wednesday night. For the second straight season, Chris Finch and company have been eliminated at the same stage of the playoffs and now head into a long offseason after falling short of their goal. Advertisement One of the big storylines throughout the series was the struggles of Anthony Edwards against this elite Thunder defense. That continued into Game 5, where the All-NBA selection scored just 19 points on 7-for-18 shooting and 1-for-7 from beyond the arc. After the game, Finch didn't hold back on his star player and talked about what he has to do better against a team like Oklahoma City. 'Obviously he's got to learn to play against that physicality and that type of holding all the time,' Finch said. 'I think they made it really hard for him. I thought for a lot of the series he did make the right play. We preach that to him all the time. We need him to be aggressive for sure. He's gotta find some easier buckets, I've gotta help him do that. I think we were never able to establish something consistent with him and that's on us as much as anybody.' Advertisement Game 5 was the third game of the series where Edwards was held under 20 points, which is a very uncharacteristic outcome for a player of his caliber. However, the Thunder have a deep group of elite defenders that they consistently threw at Edwards, making his life very difficult from start to finish in this series. In part because of those struggles, the Timberwolves were never able to be competitive in this matchup away from home. Games 1, 2 and 5 in Oklahoma City were all blowouts, and the closeout game on Wednesday night was not competitive from start to finish. Edwards is still young and ascending, but this is now two consecutive Western Conference Finals series where he has failed to meet his lofty expectations. That will certainly serve as a point of motivation for him heading into next season.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 34 points vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
Chris Finch: 'We're going to go home and fight for Game 3' [RAW] Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch reacts after a 118-103 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals Thursday night. The Timberwolves are down 0-2 in the best-of-seven series as it shifts to Target Center Saturday night.
USA Today
6 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch calls lack of Thunder off-ball fouls 'interesting'
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch calls lack of Thunder off-ball fouls 'interesting' The longer an NBA playoff series, the more tired both squads are of each other. After four games, you can feel the detest between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves. That comes with the high stakes of the Western Conference Finals with an NBA Finals trip on the line. After the Thunder won a 128-126 Game 4 thriller over the Timberwolves, everything is in their favor to advance with a 3-1 series lead. With its back against the wall, Minnesota has smartly let it be known it thinks OKC's league-best defense may be getting away with more fouls than being called. In the most obvious prediction, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch gave the Thunder a backhanded compliment for their lockdown defense on Anthony Edwards in Game 4. He was quiet with 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting in a gutpunch loss that plummets their odds of an all-time upset. "We've seen this level of physicality before. Not only from OKC but throughout the playoffs. We have that in us but I think we could be a little bit more physical ourselves. I think off-ball, they were super handsy. I saw a lot of off-ball contact. Their off-ball defense was largely focused on Ant. Try to jam him up and keep him from being able to get the ball in clean space," Finch said. "I find it also a little interesting that throughout the entire series, I can't remember an off-ball foul that's been called after four games, which is kinda unique. That just speaks volumes to the credit of their off-ball defense." While not as blunt as his infamous regular-season rant where he said you can't defend Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder get away with fouling, Finch has subtly sent out a alarm for the Game 5 officiating crew to maybe call more fouls on OKC and throw it off its rhyhtm with foul trouble to important players and more free-throw trips. We'll see if Finch gets his wish. For now, the Thunder must control what they can control. All they ask for is a consistent whistle on both sides. If they get that, there's a good chance they close out the Western Conference Finals at home and clinch their first NBA Finals berth since 2012 with a sandwich sweep.
