MINNEKeynote USAOLIS — Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch gave his team an unvarnished look at what he saw in their loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals in a video session on Thursday.
“It was a difficult film session,” Finch said matter-of-factly. “I told the guys, ‘I haven’t been so disappointed in your effort in a long time. Your performance, your attitude, your application and attention to detail just weren’t there.’ The Western Conference finals are on. I’m not “I’m sure they received the memo, but they received it this afternoon.”
The Wolves lost 108-105 in Game 1. They were outrebounded 48-40 and outscored 62-38 in the paint.
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“We’re the No. 1 defensive team in the league, so the amount of points we allowed, 108, is too much for that team,” Wolves backup big man Naz Reid said Thursday. “I just think we didn’t get it done defensively. I think that’s pretty much what it is. Sixty points in the paint, 40 of them in the first half, that’s just simple.”
Finch also mentioned the fact that his team might have lost focus in the days between their Game 7 win over the Denver Nuggets in the second round and the series opener against the Mavs, much like how it turned out. plane in Game 3 of the series. Nuggets series after a three-day break that followed a 2-0 win at Denver.
“I told our guys, ‘We’re 3-3 at home and we’ve had two similar types of performances after periods of success,'” Finch said. “There are many ways that immaturity rears its head, and this could be one of them. But now they have our attention, so there’s no reason for us to feel ourselves.”
“The Western Conference finals have started. I’m not sure if they got the memo. But they got it this afternoon.” Chris Finch, Timberwolves coach
A Timberwolves source told Keynote USA that Finch was more excited than ever. But the source added that Finch’s message was only intended to increase his team’s urgency by emphasizing how rare the opportunity to reach a conference final can be, so everyone owes it to themselves to take advantage of it.
Wolves forward Kyle Anderson, when asked about some of his teammates saying they were tired after Game 1, refused to accept that as an excuse to move on.
“Fatigue can’t be a factor at this point in the season,” Anderson said. “I think after the film session we had when we lost Game 1, we’ll have a lot more energy and juice going into Game 2.”
The Mavs are now 5-2 on the road this postseason.
“I’m sure we’ll come out and play better,” Finch said. “It’s hard to imagine that we’re going to play much worse. But there are a lot of things that I’m sure Dallas will look to adapt to as well, so each of these games has its own personality.”
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