The Minnesota Timberwolves entered Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals down 3-1 against the Thunder. It’s safe to say they needed to win this one and pull one back to keep their hopes of a title alive. However, they’ve gotten off to the worst start possible as hapless Chris Finch had to be reprimanded. But is his frustration warranted as history repeats itself for the Timberwolves?

The Minnesota Timberwolves got off to a 9-26 start in the fifth game of the Western Conference Finals. Not only is this a terrible start, but it virtually guarantees all the momentum remains with the Thunder, and they came into this game with the upper hand. And perhaps it was this frustration that caused Chris Finch to lose it.

ESPN’s David McMenamin revealed that the official handed a tech to Chris for something he said. “During the timeout, with his team down 22-7, Wolves coach Chris Finch got T’d up for something he said to the refs,” he wrote on X. But that’s not all. David also added how this was the worst way imaginable for the Timberwolves to start this game.

This start bodes extremely badly for the Timberwolves. They shot an atrocious 3-17 from the field in the first period. Meaning, they had more turnovers than field goals made. And while we don’t know exactly what Finch said to the official in his frustrations — we can’t imagine it being constructive. After all, this isn’t what you want to see from your team when down by 2 games in a series.

That said, after the horrid first half, Minnesota actually did quite well to bounce back in the third. They won the third quarter, outscoring the OKC Thunder 30-23. However, they’re still trailing them by 26 points at the time of writing. Speaking of writing, it may be on the wall as far as the Timberwolves’ fate goes in this year’s Playoffs.

Looks like consecutive Western Conference Finals exits for Chris Finch and the Timberwolves

There’s no two ways about it. This Minnesota Timberwolves squad seems to have a ceiling. And it’s exactly as high as getting to the Western Conference Finals. They made it to the Conference Finals last year only to be bounced by the Dallas Mavericks in 5 games. And the scriptwriters seem to have run out of ideas for the Timberwolves. Jokes aside, though, they are now facing the same fate against the OKC Thunder.

But this year it seemed like things would be different. The T-Wolves’ bench produced more. Julius Randle was having an incredible postseason, stepping up in big games against both the Lakers and the Warriors. And even though he’s on 24 points tonight, he also turned over the ball 4 times. But it may be another player that’s behind the Timberwolves’ failings — Mike Conley.

In last year’s Conference Finals Game 5, with the series on the line, Conley scored 7 points, grabbed 4 boards, and dished out 2 dimes. Tonight, he’s got 0 points and 1 assist. Now, you may say offensive production is not Conley’s strong suit. But on/off ratings of -22 and -17 in this year and last year’s game 5 speak volumes. These stats tell the story of a capable point guard who’s past his prime.

Say what you will about Conley, you can’t really fault him for the Timberwolves trusting him. And that’s exactly the problem. They need to surround Anthony Edwards with better players if they want a shot at the NBA title. After all, the T-Wolves’ first-round series against the Lakers made one thing clear as day. Only having star power counts for nothing in the postseason — you need a great team. And the Timberwolves are a good team, but clearly they’re not as great as this year’s top seed!