Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch spoke candidly following Minnesota’s 116-103 defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center on Sunday. “Turnovers and second chance points. Just that means…the one thing that you got to do against this team is control the possession game. And we lost it on both ends,” Finch said.
Finch highlighted early mistakes as a key factor. “Some of it we had probably what half a dozen turnovers in the backcourt. Just sloppiness in transition breakouts, outlet passes…anytime you fight the crowd against this team, they’re going to take it from you. Most of those happened early in the game.”
On the Timberwolves’ lack of a traditional point guard, Finch added, “This is who we are. We’ve done this all season long…we have to play through different people. We like to play through Jaden a lot. He was out there in this situation. But yeah, we can’t worry about what we do and don’t have at this point in the season.”
The coach praised Julius Randle for his performance despite the team’s struggles. “I thought it was his quickness in decision making…playing off the catch and then drawing and kicking. He and Ant Man had good first-half chemistry. He played quick and that’s when he’s really good.”
Finch also analyzed the team’s road trip, which concluded with the loss. “It wasn’t a great trip. Would have liked to come out here with another win or two at least. But it’s the West. Everything’s tough. Got to focus on what we got to do ahead of us at home.”
Rudy Gobert’s scoring struggles drew attention as well. “I thought he could have had more early. Not really sure why he struggled to finish, but he finished with six defensive rebounds. Could have been more to his standards.”
Finch defended Jaden McDaniels regarding recent foul trouble. “He’s avoided foul trouble all season. In the last few games, he’s struggled with calls. I still maintain he doesn’t get the amount of respect defensively that he should.”
He also noted issues with Isaiah Hartenstein’s screen management. “Just the way he operated at the top with the screens. We were off of them a little too much…we had to battle through those screens. He’s a playmaker. That’s what he does.”
The Timberwolves’ defeat came against a Thunder team led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 20 points with 10 assists while extending his streak to 128 games with at least 20 points. Chet Holmgren added 21 points and nine rebounds, and Isaiah Joe contributed 20 points. Minnesota was hampered by 22 turnovers compared to just seven for Oklahoma City.
Minnesota will host Phoenix on Tuesday, while Oklahoma City travels to Orlando.
