Last season, the Minnesota Timberwolves swept the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs. Three of their four wins came in double-digits, proving how much better the Wolves were than the Suns, despite their Big Three of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal.
However, Game 4 of that series gave the Wolves a surprising scare as Mike Conley bumped into coach Chris Finch, causing a knee injury. Karl Anthony Towns recalls his teammate Anthony Edwards’ funny reaction to the unfortunate incident.
In a recent episode of Paul George’s Podcast P, Towns mentioned Edwards’ reaction to the coach’s injury.
“I remember when [Chris] Finch got hurt, Ant said, ‘If this is what getting old look like, I don’t wanna get old.’ I was like, Ant, ‘He got his knee ran into.’ He’s like, ‘I don’t care, I don’t want to be like that,’” Towns said with a laugh.
“I remember when [Chris] Finch got hurt, Ant said, ‘If this is what getting old look like, I don’t wanna get old.’ I was like, Ant, ‘He got his knee ran into’. He’s like, ‘I don’t care.’”
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) looks for a pass with head coach Chris Finch watching in the third quarter against the Washington Wizards at Target Center.
“I remember when [Chris] Finch got hurt, Ant said, ‘If this is what getting old look like, I don’t wanna get old.’ I was like, Ant, ‘He got his knee ran into’. He's like, ‘I don’t care.’”
Karl-Anthony Towns on Anthony Edwards when his coach got hurt 😅pic.twitter.com/hbhrwdwY71
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 22, 2024
Last season, the Timberwolves may have finally cracked the code, improving on the previous year’s 42-40 record and winning 56 games. The last time the team had won 50 games was in 2004, when Kevin Garnett also ended the team’s string of first-round eliminations and led them to the Conference Finals, though they fell to the star-studded Los Angeles Lakers.
Like that 2004 team, the 2024 Wolves also reached the Conference Finals, but they fell to the Dallas Mavericks under Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. However, fans still have many reasons for celebration, despite the disappointing finish to the Wolves’ season.
They also dethroned the defending champs Denver Nuggets despite Chris Finch’s injury.
For instance, the team may have finally solved their Towns-Rudy Gobert dilemma. Since the Jazz traded Gobert to the Timberwolves in 2022, fans and analysts thought the Wolves overpaid for a center who will provide terrific interior defense but will hamper the offense by clogging the lane for Towns and Edwards. Likewise, fans thought Gobert didn’t have any post moves on offense, and he couldn’t shoot from outside ten feet.
People also worried about elite ball-handlers and shooters playing Gobert off the court, but Finch ultimately figured out how to play to both of his seven-footers’ respective strengths, creating a dynamic offense-defense combo that’s tough to stop and score against.
In 60 games with Gobert, Karl Anthony Towns still kept scoring, averaging 21.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 3.0 assists. Meanwhile, the Frenchman kept doing what he did best, averaging 14.0 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks.
Outside of the two big men, the Wolves also have a trump card in Anthony Edwards. Besides his high-flying antics, the two-time All-Star can shoot from anywhere on the court, giving opposing teams nightmares on the defensive end. He averaged 25.9 points in 79 games, his durability another ace for a team looking to solidify its playoff position.
Now, it’s up to the team not to repeat the failures of Garnett’s teams after 2004 and go where no other Timberwolves team has gone before.
Discussion about this post