Anthony Edwards and Chris Finch got into a barking match in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ win over the LA Clippers. Edwards hit a clutch shot late in the game, but apparently, Finch was telling him to pass. When he made the shot, Edwards went at Finch. But according to the head coach, the altercation was just two competitors competing.
"Listen, we're both fiery competitors," Finch told Colin Cowherd on FS1’s The Herd. "It's been part of our relationship since Day 1. We have a phenomenally talented player who makes great shots and he's a closer and he's taken major strides in that department and we're lucky to have him. This is not the first game-winning shot that he's made for us this season. But he also has the burden of responsibility of making his teammates better and making the right play, and that's what we're preaching to him all the time.
"He's really emotional. I'm emotional. We say these things to each other and we move on, we don't take it personally. I didn't think the comments after the game were mean-spirited, I thought he was just kind of joking around. We just jab back and forth with each other. These guys are super competitive and they're very prideful. Sometimes you gotta stoke that fire, and sometimes it comes back on you, but that's part of it."
This type of thing happens in sports all the time.
It’s like when Travis Kelce bumped into Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid on the sidelines. Players and coaches have been going at it forever.
The reality of the situation is that sports are a competitive business. People get fired up. Emotions run wild. The heat of battle often overwhelms people, and Edwards and Finch’s interaction showed that.
Edwards has the ultimate confidence in himself. He wants to take the big-time shots. Finch is seeing the game from a coach’s perspective. He wants his guys to make the right play every single time.
But as games enter the final minutes, tensions rise to another level. Intensity builds up, and players and coaches get very particular about how they want things to get done. Because they want to win.
Maybe there actually is some bad blood between the two, but the likely truth is that both guys were just full of adrenaline.
All that matters is the win, and that’s exactly what the Wolves got against the Clippers.