Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch did not hold back after Tuesday night’s 99–88 home loss to the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals.
Speaking postgame, Finch pointed to a lack of execution and energy—especially from Anthony Edwards—as key factors behind the defeat.
“I thought he struggled early, and then you could just kind of see the light go out a little bit for a while,” Finch said about Edwards. “It was one of those games where he kind of came out with a predetermined mindset.”
Edwards finished with 23 points and 14 rebounds, but shot just 9-for-22 from the field and missed all five of his three-point attempts.
Minnesota collectively shot 5-for-29 from beyond the arc, missing its first 16 attempts, which Finch said disrupted the team’s rhythm.
“A lot of the shots are good, it’s just maybe not the rhythm that we need to be playing in right now,” Finch said. “We got to establish a better rhythm.”
The Timberwolves also failed to capitalize on their interior size advantage despite Golden State losing Stephen Curry to a hamstring injury in the second quarter.
“We’ve got to win the battle in the paint—on both sides of the ball,” Finch said. “I thought Julius [Randle] started well. Rudy [Gobert] had a moment in the fourth. We need more of that.”
On the defensive end, Finch expressed frustration over breakdowns that he said were uncharacteristic and unplanned.
“I didn’t like the way we started defensively,” he noted. “We haven’t discussed any of that all week—making stuff up out there. It didn’t look like us at all.”
Golden State’s deep rotation, zone defense, and switch-heavy schemes held Minnesota under 90 points, while Draymond Green, Buddy Hield, and Jimmy Butler stepped up in Curry’s absence.
When asked if Edwards’ energy set the tone for the rest of the team, Finch was blunt.
“If I got to talk to guys about having the right energy coming into an opening second-round game, then we’re not on the same page,” he said.
Finch also acknowledged that the Warriors’ zone gave them trouble, even though it was only used briefly.
“They ran it for about five minutes and we struggled against it,” he admitted.
As for adjustments heading into Game 2, Finch hinted that Curry’s injury status could affect how Minnesota approaches its matchups.
“Obviously, allows us to move matchups around and different things like that,” he said. “So we’ll look at it.”
The Timberwolves now face a pivotal test Thursday night as they try to even the series at home.
