“Expect Chris Finch to attempt to influence referees against Thunder”
At a sure level within the Western Convention Finals, Chris Finch will upset OKC. He’ll go on a postgame rant concerning the officers. It’s going to both be about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander being awarded ticky-tack fouls or the Oklahoma City Thunder being allowed to get away with bodily protection that must be penalized. Or each.
As good a head coach as Finch is, he is equally blunt. The Minnesota Timberwolves have loved their most success in a long time over the past two seasons. They’re within the Western Convention Finals in back-to-back years.
The feat stands stronger this yr. After Karl-Anthony Cities was shockingly traded, all people interpreted that transfer because the Timberwolves punting on this season to shave off their payroll. Nicely, that could not have been extra mistaken. Finch labored his magic as Minnesota remodeled from a top-heavy roster to a deep rotation as Anthony Edwards leaped into superstardom.
One of many methods Finch tries to affect video games goes past the courtroom. If you happen to observe the NBA lengthy sufficient, you will know head coaches often spill their gripes concerning the officers. Heck, he is completed it as soon as already with OKC method again in February when Minnesota shocked the primary seed with a 25-point comeback win.
“It’s so frustrating to play this team because they foul a ton. They really do. They foul, they foul all the time,” Finch mentioned. “And then you can’t really touch Shai. It’s a very frustrating thing, and it takes a lot of mental toughness to play through it.”
As a substitute of celebrating the historic win, Finch spent his postgame presser sending a message to the referees in case these groups met once more within the playoffs. Nicely, that day has lastly arrived. Earlier than Sport 1 even ideas off, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault tried to kill any shot of Finch weaponizing his public phrases.
“We prepare the team for the games first of all. I said this in the Denver series because it came up there too — teams, players, coaches are going to use the media to try to influence the whistle as a competitive advantage,” Daigneault said. “… My mentality on that is it’s the Western Conference Finals. The guys working these games aren’t here for accident. I don’t think they’re influenced by anything I say or nothing our team says. I don’t think they’re compromised by what anybody else says.”
Let’s examine if Daigneault’s preemptive feedback can minimize off Finch’s potential route if the Timberwolves fall behind within the collection. He is not the one NBA participant or coach to carry up the Thunder’s calls and non-calls. Whereas their popularity could be tarnished, referees are hopefully good sufficient to know that what’s mentioned on social media and what occurs on the courtroom must be separated.
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