Beware the Timberwolves.
Fearless, hounding, suffocating and efficient, Minnesota owns a 2-0 series lead over the Nuggets thanks to one descriptor above all: relentless.
Through 96 minutes of basketball, the T-Wolves haven’t let the defending champions so much as catch their breath.
One reason is Anthony Edwards, the 22-year-old star. But the overlooked driving force behind Minnesota's ascent is its coach, Chris Finch.
Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch, center, looks on from the bench in the first half of Game 1 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
The 54-year-old who spent over a decade coaching in Europe before getting his first real NBA shot with the Rockets organization, “Finchy,” as his players call him, has inspired the mentality of his team — and it goes beyond the fact that he’s still on the sidelines despite suffering a knee injury in the first round.
With Game 3 Friday night in Minneapolis, the T-Wolves don’t intend to return to Denver.
“Finchy does a great job of putting an emphasis on (the fact that) it’s not about who wins the first game,” Edwards said. “You want to win every game. You don’t want to split, you want to win two (games) here and then have homecourt advantage and try to win two at home.”
More than dominating on the court, the T-Wolves are starting to win over a nation of fans with their impressive effort in this series.
“The goal has always been to put out a team that people like to cheer for,” Finch said. “That doesn’t happen unless you play hard and it usually doesn't happen unless you play defense and share the ball. We’re doing all those things right now.”
They’re all bought into a brand of suffocating defense and physical offense and a lack of egos on the team. A rising star, Edwards still goes out of his way to praise his teammates — as he did with Jaden McDaniels after Game 2.
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) in the second half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Monday, May 6, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
“I just want to shout out Jaden McDaniels before I get out of here. He’s been phenomenal this whole playoff run,” Edwards said. “We wouldn’t be the team we are today, we wouldn’t be the team we was in the regular season (without him) and hopefully we can keep him out there and he keeps playing like that because he’s definitely the 'X' factor of the team.”
It makes it easier for Edwards and his teammates to give maximum effort when they see their coach behind the bench in pain from a surgically repaired knee.
“For someone who just came off surgery on my knee and it was nowhere near major as his is, I can imagine a doctor told him not to travel and not to fly and Finchy said, ‘Hell nah, I’m gonna be there for my team,’” Towns said. “When you have someone that’s willing to fight like that, of course his troops are willing to fight just as hard for him.”
With four days between Games 2 and 3, there’s been for national media to ponder how far this Minnesota team can go this season. But that hasn’t distracted them from the only thing on their minds right now — Game 4 against a desperate Nuggets team.
“We gotta be ready to take their punch,” Edwards said. “We’re gonna punch, too. They’re not the only ones punching in the fight. They gotta be ready to take our punch and we’ll be ready to take their punch.”
Comeback kids?
The Nuggets are trying to become the sixth NBA team to overcome an 0-2 deficit — with both losses at home — to win a playoff series:
1969: Los Angeles Lakers over San Francisco Warriors (4-2)
1994: Houston Rockets over Phoenix Suns (4-3)
2005: Dallas Mavericks over Houston Rockets (4-3)
2017: Boston Celtics over Chicago Bulls (4-2)
2021: Los Angeles Clippers over Dallas Mavericks (4-3)