SUMMARY
- Chris Finch tore his patellar tendon following a collision with Mike Conley with under 2 minutes left in Game 4.
- Anthony Edwards showed a lot of concern over his coach's condition claiming he was the deserving 2024 Coach of the Year.
The Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns first-round playoff series was basketball played at its finest. Anthony Edwards hasn’t even been in the league for too long but his potential always showed over the year and the Wolves are back on top. Minnesota was able to defeat the Suns’ Big 3 in four games to become the first team to advance into the second round.
However, there is some concern over coach Chris Finch’s ability to train the Wolves for the second round. Towards the end of Game 4, Mike Conley was fouled hard by Devin Booker with under 2 minutes left. Conley ramped into Finch’s knee, sending him straight to the floor in pain. Ultimately, Wolves staffers assisted Finch into the locker room before the Wolves resumed play and won the series.
Anthony Edwards wanted Chris Finch to win Coach of the Year over OKC’s Mark Daigneault
Anthony Edwards was the star of the series averaging 28 points per game against the Suns’ Big 3. In Game 4, the 22-year-old athlete recorded 40 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal. After the game, Edwards commented on his coach enduring a major lower leg injury.
During an interview with Inside the NBA, Edwards gave an update on Finch saying, “No man [on if he knew Finch’s condition], but as soon as I get done with y’all, I’m rushing to back there to find out, man. Cause that’s the Coach of the Year and I hate to see him go down like that.”
The Wolves were one of the biggest surprises this season holding the top spot in the Western Conference for a majority of the season. Unfortunately, Chris Finch finished seventh in the COTY race while the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Mark Daigneault won the award. Compared to the Wolves who managed to make the playoffs last year, OKC had to face the Play-In Tournament and was knocked out in the elimination round.
But the main reason why Finch deserved the COTY title was because of how consistent and dominant his Wolves team was. They were the number one ranked Western Conference team for longer than OKC or Denver ever held the spot. Additionally, he’s made sure every player from the starting lineup to their bench unit contributed on both sides of the floor equally. When players like Edwards fail to deliver, Naz Reid, Kyle Anderson, or even Nickeil Alexander-Walker steps up.
Chris Finch remains in good spirits despite the serious injury
After all that’s said and done, Chris Finch coached the Wolves according to their strengths and used his offensive players well. Throughout the series, even though the Wolves couldn’t shut down Kevin Durant entirely, they somehow managed to limit the Suns’ remaining scorers to 20 points or less. Devin Booker finished the series averaging an underwhelming 20.3 points per game.
After the injury, Assistant Coach Micah Noris stepped in to finish the final possessions of Game 4. Once the game ended, he also updated the media on Finch’s injury. He said, “He’s obviously in good spirits and so are the guys. Everybody has their role, everybody has each other’s back. I know it sounds corny, but it’s just next man up, even the coaching staff.”
THIS IS FOR YOU, COACH 🫶 pic.twitter.com/KOXL30aoBw
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) April 29, 2024
As you can see, the Wolves honored Finch with a post on X that said, “This is for you, coach.” Unfortunately, the collision ended up rupturing Finch’s patellar tendon. This is a tendon that’s connected to the patella and tibia.