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The Minnesota Timberwolves appeared to have an easy run-in to begin the 2022-23 season. They were slated to face the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs twice, and the Utah Jazz at home, three teams that many pundits believed were destined to jockey for the right to draft Victor Wembanyama first overall. But Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch knows firsthand that there are no easy games in the NBA.
After the Timberwolves' latest defeat to the Spurs, this one a much more crushing defeat than the 115-106 final scoreline would have you believe, Finch offered a brutal yet honest assessment of his team's struggles thus far, especially in light of their game two loss against the Jazz.
“They just outpunked us in every way possible, outran us, outcompeted us, outphysicaled us… it was ugly and unacceptable. They kicked our a– and we felt it,” Finch said, per Bally Sports North.
"They just out-punked us in every way possible."
Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch reacts to the lack of effort in the disappointing loss to the Spurs. #RaisedByWolves pic.twitter.com/lLBDdSAAm0
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) October 25, 2022
Nonetheless, Chris Finch was quick to credit the Spurs for their tenacity and effort; while the Spurs' current iteration isn't as talented as the rosters of years past, a Gregg Popovich-led team never goes down without a fight.
“We knew that they were a hard-playing team. This is two hard playing teams [the Jazz and the Spurs] that have come in here and played the game the right way and made more efforts than us,” Finch added.
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While the Timberwolves took care of business against the Thunder in their two meetings thus far, there have been warning signs brewing that the Timberwolves may need more time to jell than initially expected.
“A lot of it is our connectivity right now has got to better, on both ends of the floor. […] We got to figure some stuff out. The only way to do it is out on the floor,” Finch said.
While Karl-Anthony Towns has had his fair share of struggles, Chris Finch noted that the onus is on his guards, primarily D'Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards, to get the ball rolling on both ends of the floor.
“Breakdowns [are] coming from the point of attack. We cannot contain the ball effectively,” Finch added. “Our backcourt has got to give itself up to the offense a little bit more. I think there was too much come down, and take on the teeth of the defense and not enough movement early in the offense.”
The Timberwolves will have an opportunity to bounce back against the Spurs on Wednesday night, and perhaps they will have added motivation following this demoralizing defeat.
