Speaking to reporters following Friday’s loss to San Antonio, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch blasted crew chief Tony Brothers for confronting him during a fourth quarter stoppage in play, according to Chris Hine of The Star-Tribune (subscription required). The disagreement began when Finch tried to call a timeout, but Brothers didn’t acknowledge him right away.
“Pretty unprofessional, huh?” Finch said. “I wanted the time out. I had called it three seconds earlier, and I wanted the timeout. I said. ‘I want my three seconds back.’ Because he clearly heard me. He looked my way, ignored me, went on with the play, and then gave me it. It almost cost us the turnover.”
Brothers responded by walking toward Minnesota’s huddle with a heated retort for Finch, adds Anthony Slater of ESPN. Naz Reid stepped in to calm things down, but the argument didn’t end there.
Before the timeout ended, Finch approached Brothers to ask where the ball would be inbounded and claimed that Brothers “lost it” in response. Bones Hyland and assistant coach Pablo Prigioni intercepted Brothers again before the argument could escalate any further, and eventually tempers cooled (Twitter video link from Bleacher Report).
Wolves star Anthony Edwards, who was standing next to his coach during the final stages of the exchange, attributed it to the intensity of playoff basketball.
“Competition at the highest level,” he said. “We wanna win. Finchy wanna win. Tony Brothers is Tony Brothers. We all love him.”
There’s no word from the league office yet on whether Finch will be fined for his remarks. Any disciplinary action will likely be announced before Game 4 Sunday evening.
As Slater notes, it’s the second straight night that featured harsh criticism of an official. Lakers coach JJ Redick expressed displeasure with how the game was called after losing to Oklahoma City on Thursday, and guard Austin Reaves claimed referee John Goble was “disrespectful” during an in-game interaction.
I’m not a fan of either team. I don’t understand why these refs want to dictate so much and be the “main players” in this game. It’s not about them. It’s about being fair to both teams and the fans. I’m getting real tired of the NBA and the product that weird Adam Silver is allowing to be displayed.
That Vegas pressure.
If the refs call a lot of fouls, L.A. and SA get a big boost. If they don’t, OKC and Minny do. The latter two teams count on the exact thing you’re talking about: refs giving up on calling everything that’s a legit foul because “it’s not about them.” Finch, who is one of the biggest whiners in the league, knows his team has no chance unless it’s rugby out there, and he’s frustrated.
SGA Is top 5 last two years in fouls drawn.
Did Brothers said “f*** U” to Finch?
It looks like it ..
I’m torn. Brothers or Foster biggest cheat going?
These two are definitely emotional but I don’t think they are cheats. They just get revenge on players and coaches they have a personal grudge against. I’m not ok with that behavior when it comes to NBA officials, but it is different than cheating.
Ed Malloy and James Williams are the refs I would say have been highly questionable to me
The officiating is horrible! I am not even blaming the refs for the 76ers loses. Just overall poor officiating. They let multiple push offs slide, guys get mugged then they call a foul with minimal contact. There is no consistency in calling a foul except that stars get more favorable whistles either way. Just officiate with consistency regardless of who the player is. The playoffs are ugly and it’s due to the officiating.
Finch got his moneys worth tonight…
Might as well of bribed the refs with the escalating contact they are allowing…