Tag: Chris Finch

The Timberwolves rallied around head coach Chris Finch after he tore his patellar during series win

This looked like an incredibly painful injury for the Timberwolves coach.

The Minnesota Timberwolves swept the Phoenix Suns during the first round of the postseason, but head coach Chris Finch was injured in the process.

Finch, who was a finalist for the NBA’s Coach of the Year after leading the Timberwolves to one of the best records in the Western Conference, collided with one of his players on the sideline during the series-clinching win.

Following the unfortunate collision with Minnesota’s Mike Conley, the coach left for the locker room. Finch reportedly suffered a torn patellar tendon and will likely require surgery between rounds of the postseason.

After the game, the Timberwolves rallied around Finch and sent him love as he begins his recovery process.

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Chris Finch aplauds Victor Wembanyama after Spurs beat Timberwolves

Chris Finch praised Victor Wembanyama after the San Antonio Spurs’ win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

For the first time since November 17 and 18, Victor Wembanyama played in back-to-back games for the San Antonio Spurs against the Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday and Saturday. Wembanyama was sitting out of back-to-backs after an ankle issue prior to the Spurs’ game against the Dallas Mavericks on December 23.

But more importantly, not only did Wembanyama play in both games, he led the Spurs to two wins, marking just their third set of back-to-back wins all season, the second of which was against a top-two team in the Western Conference. Wembanyama and Devin Vassell led the way in that game.

After the contest, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch had some high praise for Wembanyama.

“He’s an amazing young player, and he’s going to be the future and the face of the league,” Finch said via Tom Osborn of the San Antonio Express-News. “He had a great game tonight.”

Wembanyama finished the game with 23 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, two steals, and two blocks while shooting 9-of-17 from the floor and 3-of-6 from behind the three-point line.

As for Vassell, he was the top scorer of the night for San Antonio. He ended the contest with 25 points, four rebounds, five assists, and two steals while shooting 11-of-17 from the field and 3-of-6 from beyond the three-point stripe.

Minnesota was unable to take advantage of an absurd performance from Anthony Edwards. The superstar ended the game with 32 points, six rebounds, 12 assists, and one steal while shooting 12-o-18 from the field and 6-of-8 from deep.

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Luka Garza signs two-way deal with Minnesota Timberwolves

Iowa center Luka Garza has found a new home with the Minnesota Timberwolves, signing a two-way deal.

Luka Garza has a new home in Minnesota.

The Athletic and Stadium NBA inside Shams Charania reported that the Minnesota Timberwolves have signed former Iowa center Luka Garza to a two-way deal. Already under contract, the real news is that they are converting the deal to a two-way contract.

Garza’s confirmed position in the Wolves’ organization comes following a strong showing in the NBA Preseason. Garza averaged 7.3 points and 2.3 rebounds while shooting just over 61 percent from the floor. Minnesota head coach Chris Finch called Garza a perfect fit for the Timberwolves system following Minnesota’s 118-113 win over the Lakers.

“He’s the perfect system fit for us. Great acquisition by our front office. He’s a guy I think can really grow into our system here. He can stretch the floor and he can score around the basket. That’s a great combo. Not a lot of bigs can do that,” Finch said.

Garza displayed the three ball this preseason, hitting 66% of his 3-point attempts.

Given Minnesota’s current center situation, bringing in multiple-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert alongside the returning Naz Reid, it seems more likely than not that Garza will spend most of the upcoming season with the Timberwolves’ G-League affiliate.

Garza was a standout performer for the Motor City Cruise, Detroit’s G-League affiliate, earning a spot on the All-NBAGL third team last season.

While the 23-year-old may not see a ton of playing time this season with some more established talent ahead of him on the depth chart, his ability to stretch the court from the center position could provide value off the bench.

Even if it is not this year though, it does seem that Finch and the Wolves are keen on building Garza’s game and keeping him around as a system fit for the future.

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What have your conversations been like …

What have your conversations been like with D’Angelo? Chris Finch: Incredibly positive, of course. He’s very excited, as all of our guys are. He knows how important a rolling big is to his game. … One thing we might not be able to do as much is kind of play him off the ball [on defense] as much as we had done as a roamer. We don’t need that now. He’s got to be a little more locked in. … That’s going to be a little different for him. His competitiveness on the ball, everyone might have to guard their natural position a little bit more than we had done in the last year. So those are all things that come to mind initially when I think about it. But he’s very excited. We feel like this gives us a chance, gives him a chance to get the best version of him, which is what you want.

Finch on Tuesday seemed to believe …

Finch on Tuesday seemed to believe working out an extension was not going to be a huge obstacle. “I think it’s all of our hopes, really,” Finch said. “We know he’s happy. We were extremely happy for him, for All-NBA and the ability to have this extension. I know he worked hard for it. I know he’s excited, so I think it’ll be a good moment, special moment for him and for this organization.” President Tim Connelly has spoken about wanting Towns to remain in a Wolves uniform for a long time. “I hope he’s here forever,” Connelly said. “I hope we have the type of team success that would allow us to look up and see Karl’s jersey being hung up in the rafters.”

The Timberwolves declined to pick up …

The Timberwolves declined to pick up the option on assistant general manager Gianluca Pascucci’s contract for next season, league sources told The Athletic. Pascucci was one of Rosas’ top lieutenants and oversaw scouting for the draft and the team’s G League affiliate in Iowa. Gupta also hired Steve Senior away from the Memphis Grizzlies for a newly formed position in the front office, sources said. Senior will join the franchise as an assistant general manager in charge of player development. Senior comes from a well-regarded staff in Memphis and has ties to Gupta and Finch when they were all together in Houston. He was also on the New York Knicks staff when Wolves assistant coach Pablo Prigioni played there and has connections to several other Wolves staff members.