Ex-NBA Champ Throws Chris Finch Under the Bus After Anthony Edwards Gets Visibly Upset Over Game 4 Failure

The Timberwolves-Thunder Game 3 had the “OKC in 5”-ers quaking in their boots. It wasn’t just that Thunder lost. It was mainly the Wolves’ dominance- posting a franchise-high 143 points in a single playoff game. So to evade this, Mark Daigneault went back to his old tactic in Game 4- pack the paint and let the Wolves rely on their shots. This obviously didn’t go well. But it was their inability to get Anthony Edwards in positions to even get those shots in that’s gotten Kendrick Perkins criticizing Chris Finch’s tactics.

It was Game 1 all over again. Ant went 5-for-13 from the field, only managing 16 points in 41 minutes. And get this – Ant only took two shots in the first half. The Thunder really guarded him out of the game. That’s why Chris Finch said, “He got downhill, we got him off the ball a bit more. When he got to the paint, I thought he found some people, made the right plays. First half, I thought he lagged behind a little bit too much; he needed to get out in front so that we could stretch the floor and screen for him a bit.”

But is it fair to say this was Ant’s fault? Despite a slow first half, he did come out blasting in the second. Further, in the first, he barely even got into shooting positions. And that was more Finch’s fault than anything. After all, they scored 126 points in regulation. Where did they struggle? Turnovers. They committed 23 turnovers, with 5 of them coming from Anthony Edwards. So they have to have a long, hard look in the mirror before Game 5.

“He didn’t struggle. Greeny, they scored 126 points in regulation. Shot 51% from the field and 43% from three. Their defense struggled. That’s what struggled. I mean, listen, we’re talking about, you’re going against a squad in the Oklahoma City Thunder. That’s one of the best defensive teams in the history of the NBA. Okay, so what they did was they made Anthony Edwards a decision maker. That’s why Donte had wide open threes in the corner. Jaden McDaniels was wide open. Mike Conley, he made the right play. They just couldn’t get stops. When you score 126 points, it’s not about scoring no more. They couldn’t slow down the Oklahoma City Thunder,” said KP on Get Up ESPN.

Was making Edwards the decision man the right move? Maybe not. But what’s worse is their inability to double-mark the MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. It’s usually a no-brainer, but for some reason the Wolves just didn’t get it right. “Coach Finch, how about sending a double team at him all night long, from the first quarter through the fourth quarter? I was so tired of watching him being able to isolate Rudy until Rudy had to go sit down. How many times are you gonna let this man play one-on-one basketball,” said KP on the show.

Edwards himself admits he didn’t struggle. And that says a lot when you don’t cross 20 points as the team’s leading ace.

Anthony Edwards: “I didn’t get enough shots to say I struggled”

He might not have made enough field goals to justify this, but his 3-point shooting accuracy has to improve. If you exclude the Game 3 victory numbers, Edwards has gone 5-for-24 from deep in their 3 losses. Not to say that’s the sole cause of their 3-1 deficit, but they can’t become the 14th team in NBA playoff history to overcome a 3-1 deficit without the Ant-Man drastically improving his 3-point efficiency.

Apart from this, the OKC defense really did wonders. Loose officiating allowed the likes of Lu Dort, Chet Holmgren, and Isaiah Hartenstein free reign in the perimeter physically.

“I don’t look at it like I struggled,” Edwards told reporters after the game. “They had a good game plan, making us get off the ball — especially for me, man, they was super in gaps. I made the right play all night. So I don’t look at it like I struggled. I didn’t get enough shots to say I struggled. That might be how you guys look at it, but, yeah, I didn’t struggle at all, I made the right play.”

So for the ex-champ Kendrick Perkins, it was Chris Finch’s defensive tactics that cost Minnesota Game 4. But no matter how much Anthony Edwards denies his contributions, if his 3-point efficiency doesn’t improve, they can kiss their chances of an NBA Finals appearance goodbye.