Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr responded Wednesday to Chris Finch’s criticism of officiating in Game 1, saying both teams are dealing with excessive physicality and uncalled fouls in the playoffs.
Finch had publicly aired grievances earlier that day, confirming the Timberwolves submitted video clips to the NBA showing what he described as “fouling, holding, shoving, and tackling” of Rudy Gobert by Warriors players.
Asked about Finch’s remarks, Kerr acknowledged his own frustrations, particularly with the way Stephen Curry has been defended.
“I was upset the first 10 minutes of the game,” Kerr said. “They were bear-hugging Steph, and they could have called six fouls.”
Kerr did not deny the game’s physical tone but emphasized that both sides see missed calls when reviewing game tape.
“We all do,” he said. “We watch the tape, we see all the fouls on them that aren’t called. They watch the tape, they see all the ones on us that weren’t called.”
He added that he plans to submit his own collection of uncalled fouls to the league office.
Kerr also highlighted a broader trend in postseason officiating, citing historical strategies to exploit leniency.
“Ime said it in our Houston series: just keep fouling them, they can’t call them,” Kerr noted, referencing Rockets coach Ime Udoka. “That’s the old Pat Riley, Chuck Daly formula.”
While acknowledging the officials’ difficult task, Kerr pushed for better tone-setting early in games to curb unchecked contact.
“I always feel like the officials need to call stuff early in the game to set a tone,” Kerr said.
Finch had pointed to Brandin Podziemski and Gary Payton II as examples of defenders being overly aggressive with Gobert, calling the Warriors’ tactics “pulling guards and linemen out there just taking shots.”
The Warriors coach did not address Gobert directly but stood by his view that physicality is being allowed on both ends.
“For eight straight games now, Steph hasn’t had any freedom of movement,” Kerr said. “They’ve called maybe four or five of those fouls. That’s a foul.”
Curry has been ruled out for at least a week with a left hamstring injury, forcing the Warriors to reconfigure their offense without their leading scorer.
Kerr said his staff is actively discussing lineup changes and offensive adjustments in response to Curry’s absence.
“The playoffs are about adapting,” he said. “We’ve done this before, and we’re confident we can do this again.”
Game 2 is scheduled for Thursday night at Target Center in Minneapolis.
