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Jon Krawczynski: Finch on Kuminga (10r, 4B): “We’d be lost without him right now.”
Jon Krawczynski: Shannon out, Ball a gametime decision, per Finch
Q. Another game where LaMelo Ball is in foul trouble a lot and the turnovers. How do you try to kind of get him through this? Chris Finch, He's got to figure it out, right? I mean, the turnovers are unnecessarily, I think. To be fair, they’re fouling him all over the floor. They got their hands on him, they’re bumping him, they’re holding him, they’re riding him off his line. And at the other end of the floor, he’s being whistled for a bunch of touch fouls. The way that they allow people to just put their hands on him over the full court, I thought we got rid of that stuff in the 80s, but apparently not.”
Dane Moore: Chris Finch was asked about this interaction on the bench between Rudy Gobert, Jonathan Kuminga and LaMelo Ball. Finch was unaware of the interaction, as was Gobert when he was asked. "Honestly, I didn't see what you're referring to the other night. It's part of the game. Obviously everything has to stay in a healthy context. But you'd rather have guys talking about things and airing it out than brooding over it and letting things fester. So yeah, I think it's just a normal part of the way things are these days."
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Chris Finch believes the focus should be on stopping offensive players from flopping. “I was all for the league cleaning up flopping when I heard they were going to do it,” Finch said. “Unfortunately, I think the league has their own definition of what a flop is, which is needed but confusing when you feel like when you see a flop (and) everyone kind of knows what it is. It doesn’t need to be overly explained. I think where they got it wrong is all these flops they’re calling on the defense, and that’s not what the people want out of the game. They want the flops on the offensive players out of the game. The league was very intentional about saying the fans didn’t want to see flopping, but that’s not the flopping that … they don’t care if a defender spills down and shouts.
Joseph Dycus: Chris Finch says he expects LaMelo Ball to take on more of a scoring role vs Warriors with Edwards out. Also says Jonathan Kuminga could play more SF than PF.
Jon Krawczynski: Chris Finch to our @joevardon pregame in Anthony Edwards knee: “It’s a daily situation, I don’t think there’s any long term concern.”
"We weren't the best version ourselves last year in the playoffs, but we also know how high the bar is in the Western Conference," Wolves president Tim Connelly said at the team's media day. "We're very aware of what we have to overcome and how difficult that task will be. And we think we're more prepared than ever." The Wolves recognized their need to lessen Edwards' ballhandling duties, and he has been more than happy to welcome the help. "I feel like I'm a natural two guard at heart," he said. "I never thought I could develop any point guard skills. I know Finchy [coach Chris Finch] harps on me passing the ball, but now we got LaMelo, so I'm happy."
Jonathan Kuminga says he has never seen Ball have a bad day. Jaden McDaniels says he can never take his eye off Ball when his point guard has the ball in his hands. Coach Chris Finch says Ball’s infectious energy makes it impossible to stay mad at him. Ball’s early days in Minnesota have gone about as well as anyone could have hoped. The 25-year-old has quickly adapted to his new team, new city and new gym. But this is hardly a new experience for him. “With being a new guy, I feel like I’m good with it, for real,” Ball said. “You know some people, it’s hard to kind of break in or get involved and all that type of stuff. But wherever I go, I just be myself, feel like me, so it’s kind of easy.”
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K.C. Johnson: Finch on Miller: "We love Leonard. We got him super young. He put the work in. We could see growth. It really was all about opportunity and he’s getting one here. We’re tickled for him. When you look at our previous roster construction, the pathway for him to play wasn’t clear."
Alan Horton: Edwards, Ball, McDaniels, Kuminga, Gobert, Dosunmu, Hyland & Lyles will not play tonight & did not make the trip to Chicago. Chris Finch before the game... "This game is extremely intentional. We treat it almost like a baseball split-squad game. Half the roster stayed back home & practiced today & we get these guys here who get a chance to play extended minutes."
Jon Krawczynski: Chris Finch says his gut tells him he wants to keep Ant and LaMelo on the floor together a lot. "If you look at the shots that Ant was able to make last night, they were all super easy. A lot of them were generated through LaMelo's playmaking."
Using Hemingway as a tool or an example was a concept Nori borrowed from Chris Finch, the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, whom Nori served as assistant head coach under for the past five seasons. Hemingway is Finch’s favorite author, and years ago he gifted Nori and the Timberwolves staff the book. When Nori first finished reading it, something clicked. “(Hemingway) didn’t use a lot of words. Everything was essentially headlines and cut to the chase,” Nori said. “So I figure as a team, we are together for seven months. I don’t want my voice to become like that Charlie Brown teacher (wah-wah-wah). You can hit these guys with your point, then get out.”