Timberwolves Rumors

Poll: Who Will Win Western Conference Finals?

May 19th, 2025 at 12:00pm CST by Luke Adams

By blowing out Denver on Sunday in the lone Game 7 of the NBA postseason’s second round, Oklahoma City set up a showdown of Northwest rivals in the 2025 Western Conference Finals.

The Timberwolves went just 49-33 during the regular season, which was the 10th-best record in the league and was barely enough to earn a guaranteed playoff spot in the West — Minnesota moved into the conference’s No. 6 seed on the last day of the season. But the Wolves have looked more dangerous in the postseason than their regular season record would suggest, winning 10 of 12 games against star-studded Lakers and Warriors teams in the first two rounds.

Skeptics will argue that the Lakers were still adjusting to a midseason revamping of their roster and that the Warriors would’ve been a far more formidable opponent if Stephen Curry hadn’t strained his hamstring in Game 1 of the second round. Still, the Wolves beat the teams in front of them and looked good doing it — their 114.6 postseason offensive rating ranks fifth among 16 playoff teams, while their 106.8 defensive rating is second-best.

Anthony Edwards has proven to be an effective postseason closer, averaging 26.5 points per game in the first two rounds, while Julius Randle (23.9 PPG, 5.9 APG) has played some of his best basketball of the season in the playoffs.

Rudy Gobert wasn’t part of the Defensive Player of the Year conversation this year, but he has shown against L.A. and Golden State that he still deserves to be considered one of the league’s best rim protectors and defensive anchors. And the Wolves are getting necessary contributions from the rest of their eight-man rotation too, including Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid, Donte DiVincenzo, Mike Conley, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

Still, Minnesota will enter the Western Finals as a significant underdog against the 68-14 Thunder. Despite the fact that it took Oklahoma City seven games to finish off Denver in round two, oddsmakers and bettors love the club’s chances of advancing to the NBA Finals — BetOnline.ag currently OKC listed as a -355 favorite.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads the way for Oklahoma City and has found his rhythm this spring following an up-and-down start to the postseason. After making just 18-of-68 shots from the field (26.5%) in his first three games against Memphis, Gilgeous-Alexander has put up 30.8 points per contest on 53.1% shooting in his last eight outings.

Jalen Williams (19.6 PPG on .440/.254/.750 shooting) hasn’t been as effective in the playoffs as he was in the regular season, but the Thunder’s depth has more than made up for it. Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, Alex Caruso, Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins, Cason Wallace, and Isaiah Joe have all appeared in each of OKC’s 11 playoff contests and are averaging between 5.3 and 15.7 points per game.

The defense that ranked No. 1 in the NBA during the regular season hasn’t let up in the postseason either. The Thunder had the best first-round defensive rating (97.6) out of 16 teams and ranked first among eight clubs in the second round with a 103.9 mark. And even though it took seven games to get past Denver, Oklahoma City had the best second-round net rating (+9.9) of any team, outscoring the Nuggets by 64 points in the series.

Even though the Thunder finished 19 games ahead of the Timberwolves in the regular season standings and will have home-court advantage, this series could be a very competitive one. The two teams split their four regular season matchups this season, with one of those games going into overtime and two more decided by single digits. And the Timberwolves probably hold the slight edge in postseason experience, having been in the Western Finals last spring too.

We want to know what you think. Who will win this series and represent the Western Conference in the 2025 NBA Finals? Are you counting on the Thunder to come through or do you think the Wolves will pull off the upset? How many games do you figure it’ll take?

Vote in our poll and head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!

Suns Narrow Down Coaching Search To Nine Candidates

May 18th, 2025 at 2:06pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

2:06 pm: Heat assistant Chris Quinn has also moved onto the second stage of Phoenix’s coaching search, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link).

1:17 pm: The Suns appear to be narrowing down their search for their fourth head coach in as many seasons.

According to veteran NBA insider Chris Haynes (YouTube video link), new Phoenix general manager Brian Gregory has selected eight candidates to advance to the second round of the process. Previous reporting indicated that the Suns had initial conversations with between 15 and 20 candidates.

As Haynes details, that eight-man group consists of Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney, Suns assistant David Fizdale, Pelicans assistant James Borrego, Cavaliers assistants Johnnie Bryant and Jordan Ott, Nets assistant Steve Hetzel, Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori, and Thunder assistant Dave Bliss.

Among these eight finalists, only Fizdale and Borrego have prior head coaching experience on their resumes.

As Haynes notes, Fizdale previously turned down a head coaching offer from former Suns owner, Robert Sarver, instead accepting an ill-fated gig as the head coach of the Knicks, which lasted just over a year. All told, Fizdale has a cumulative 71-134 regular season record during his stints with the Grizzlies and Knicks. He led Memphis to one playoff berth during his debut season as the team’s head coach.

Borrego was the interim head coach in Orlando for the end of the 2014/15 season, and served as the head coach with Charlotte from 2018-22. He boasts a 148-183 overall regular season record and has yet to lead a team to the playoffs.

Reports earlier this spring indicated that Phoenix would likely be targeting a younger head coach following brief stints with Frank Vogel and Mike Budenholzer at the helm. As Haynes observes, this group of names is consistent with that aim — 51-year-old Nori and 50-year-old Fizdale are the oldest of the eight candidates, most of whom are in their 30s and early 40s.

The Suns brass is hoping their next coach can “build a program from scratch,” according to Haynes, who says the team is emphasizing discipline, accountability, and a philosophical alignment with majority owner Mat Ishbia and the front office. Phoenix is also prioritizing coaching candidates with defensive backgrounds.

A coach who can effectively work with star players is another important consideration, even if the Suns ultimately move on from Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and/or even Devin Booker in the near future. According to Haynes, the head coaching decision may have an impact on how the team moves forward with its stars, since it’s possible Budenholzer’s replacement will have a preexisting relationship with one or more of those players or will hit it off quickly with them.

The expectation is that the Suns will eventually reduce their coaching candidate pool from eight candidates to three finalists, reports Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link).

2025 NBA Draft Picks By Team

May 16th, 2025 at 1:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets and Jazz were among the teams who left Monday’s draft lottery disappointed, as Brooklyn slipped two spots to No. 8 while Utah, the NBA’s worst team during the 2024/25 season, ended up at No. 6.

Still, while they won’t be picking as high in the lottery as they might like, the Nets and Jazz will enter this year’s draft armed with plenty of ammunition. Brooklyn controls a league-high five 2025 draft picks, including four first-rounders and an early second-rounder. Utah, meanwhile, is one of just two teams (along with the Magic) controlling four picks in this year’s draft, including a pair of first-rounders.

Four other clubs – the Spurs, Hornets, Wizards, and Thunder – own three picks apiece, so those seven teams combine to control 25 of the 59 selections in the 2025 draft.

In addition to those teams with three or more picks, 12 more clubs own a pair of 2025 draft selections, while another 10 control one apiece. That latter group includes the Mavericks, whose No. 1 overall pick is their only selection in this year’s draft.

That leaves just a single NBA team without a draft pick this year: the Nuggets. Denver traded its 2025 first-rounder to Orlando back in 2021 as part of a package for Aaron Gordon in a deal that has worked out exceedingly well for the 2023 champions and sent out its 2025 second-rounder last offseason in a Reggie Jackson salary-dump. The Nuggets could still trade into this draft, but for now they’re the only team on track to sit it out.

To present a clearer picture of which teams are most – and least – stocked with picks for the 2025 NBA draft, we’ve rounded up all 59 selections by team in the space below. Let’s dive in…

Teams with more than two picks:

Brooklyn Nets (5): 8, 19, 26, 27, 36
Utah Jazz (4): 5, 21, 43, 53
Orlando Magic (4): 16, 25, 46, 57
San Antonio Spurs (3): 2, 14, 38
Charlotte Hornets (3): 4, 33, 34
Washington Wizards (3): 6, 18, 40
Oklahoma City Thunder (3): 15, 24, 44

Teams with two picks:

Philadelphia 76ers: 3, 35
Toronto Raptors: 9, 39
Houston Rockets: 10, 59
Chicago Bulls: 12, 45
Atlanta Hawks: 13, 22
Minnesota Timberwolves: 17, 31
Indiana Pacers: 23, 54
Boston Celtics: 28, 32
Phoenix Suns: 29, 52
Los Angeles Clippers: 30, 51
Memphis Grizzlies: 48, 56
Cleveland Cavaliers: 49, 58

Teams with one pick:

Dallas Mavericks: 1
New Orleans Pelicans: 7
Portland Trail Blazers: 11
Miami Heat: 20
Detroit Pistons: 37
Golden State Warriors: 41
Sacramento Kings: 42
Milwaukee Bucks: 47
New York Knicks: 50
Los Angeles Lakers: 55

Teams with no picks:

Denver Nuggets

Northwest Notes: Wolves, Dort, Blazers, Jazz, Uzan

May 15th, 2025 at 10:54am CST by Luke Adams

After being eliminated in the Western Conference Finals in the spring of 2024, Anthony Edwards vowed the Timberwolves would be “back next year,” writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

That looked like a long shot for much of the season as Minnesota spent most of 2024/25 hovering around the seventh or eighth spot in the West. But the Wolves moved up to sixth on the last day of the regular season, dispatched the Lakers in round one, and – with Wednesday’s win over Golden State – made good on Edwards’ declaration, as well as responding to a challenge issued by head coach Chris Finch.

“The challenge we laid down to our guys from day one was quite simple,” Finch said after the Wolves’ Game 5 victory, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “It was one question: ‘Were you a Western Conference Finals team, or were you a team that just happened to make the Western Conference Finals?’ And there’s only one way to prove that: Go out and do it again. And that was our mission all year.”

While the Wolves have achieved one of their goals, they’re still two series wins away from their ultimate objective, which is why Edwards told reporters on Wednesday that there’s “no satisfaction” in the locker room yet, according to McMenamin. Minnesota would enter the 2025 Western Finals as a significant underdog if the 68-win Thunder get past Denver in the other conference semifinal, but the Wolves players say they’re not fazed by that.

“Our mentality going in was nobody expected us to beat the Lakers, no one expected us to beat the Warriors,” Donte DiVincenzo said. “So our expectation going in was just stick together and we know that no one is going to pick us, and we’re fine with that.”

We have more from around the Northwest:

After not playing in the fourth quarter of the Thunder‘s Game 4 win and scoring just three points in the first three quarters of Game 5, veteran wing Luguentz Dort keyed Oklahoma City’s Tuesday comeback with a trio of consecutive three-pointers in the fourth quarter, writes Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. Head coach Mark Daigneault had reaffirmed his faith in Dort after Game 4, referring to him as “the last guy I’m worried about,” and wasn’t surprised by his Game 5 heroics. “I don’t bet against Lu,” Daigneault said. “It’s that simple.”
It’s business as usual for the Trail Blazers‘ front office with the franchise up for sale, reports Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. A source tells Fentress that general manager Joe Cronin is operating with no additional restrictions during the sale process. As Fentress writes, while it’s not uncommon for a new ownership group to make managerial and coaching changes, both Cronin and head coach Chauncey Billups recently signed contract extensions, so they at least have some financial security going forward.
Milos Uzan worked out for the Jazz last week and said he got some “pretty good feedback” from the team, according to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune, who notes that Carlos Boozer – rumored to be joining Utah as a scout – referred to Uzan as “one of the better players in the workout.” The Houston guard is the 41st overall prospect on ESPN’s big board, while the Jazz control three picks (Nos. 21, 43, and 53) in addition to their lottery selection.

Northwest Notes: Edwards, Westbrook, Jazz, Blazers

May 13th, 2025 at 6:20pm CST by Luke Adams

With the Timberwolves trailing Golden State at halftime in Game 4 on Monday, a locker-room speech from Anthony Edwards helped spark a huge third-quarter turnaround, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

“I told them, ‘We only got two wins,'” Edwards told reporters after Minnesota’s Game 4 win. “I’ve never seen a series end 2-1. I told them we have to get two more wins and right now we’re playing like we already got four wins. … We had to figure it out because if we would have kept playing like that, we would have lost tonight.”

Edwards made good on his halftime speech by coming out and scoring 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the third quarter. The Timberwolves as a whole outscored the Warriors 39-17, making it the largest positive margin in a single quarter in Wolves playoff history, per McMenamin.

As Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes, the Timberwolves will need to remain cognizant of Edwards’ message and avoid getting complacent going forward in order to finish off the series. After building a big lead in the third quarter on Monday, they saw that lead whittled down to seven points in the fourth before putting the game way. As they head home for Game 5, guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker spoke about a need to “understand the moment.”

“Have to be present and understand that these are situations that are pivotal,” he said. “You have a chance to close out on your home court as opposed to having to go elsewhere and try to win and then do it again and come back on the road and travel.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

The Nuggets had been interested in Russell Westbrook for years before signing him last summer, believing that his energy and competitiveness would be a welcome addition to the roster, writes Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. However, the veteran guard remains a volatile personality who reportedly pouted after being taken out near the end of a first-round loss and got into a heated discussion with Aaron Gordon in the locker room after being challenged over his attitude, sources tell ESPN. According to Shelburne, the Nuggets’ chances of advancing in the playoffs and having a shot at another title could come down to which version of Westbrook they get going forward.
Even though there was nearly a 50/50 chance that the Jazz would end up at No. 5 in the draft, that outcome was still a gut-punch for fans in Utah on the heels of a 17-win season. Tony Jones of The Athletic weighs what’s next for the Jazz after a disappointing lottery night, suggesting that the team should still land a promising young building block at No. 5. But since that player likely won’t make an immediate impact on winning as a rookie, Utah could be back in this position in 2026, hoping for better lottery luck.
Keith Smith of Spotrac previews the coming offseason in Portland, evaluating the Trail Blazers‘ top trade candidates and considering what a rookie scale extension might look like for Shaedon Sharpe (Smith projects $112MM over four years).

Injury Notes: Towns, Hauser, Garland, Dillingham, Tyson

May 11th, 2025 at 7:22pm CST by Luke Adams

Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns appeared to suffer a hand or finger injury in Saturday’s Game 3 loss to Boston, but he was a full participant in practice on Sunday and isn’t listed on the injury report for Monday’s Game 4, per Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News and Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (Twitter links).

It’s positive news for the Knicks after both Towns and head coach Tom Thibodeau were cagey about the potential injury following Game 3. Towns is coming off his worst shooting game of the postseason, as he made just 5-of-18 field goal attempts on Saturday, including 1-of-5 three-pointers.

The only player on Monday’s injury report for either team is Celtics forward Sam Hauser, who has been upgraded to questionable after having been initially listed as doubtful and then downgraded to out for each of the past two games. While it remains to be seen if he’ll be active for Game 4, the new designation suggests he’s nearing a return.

“He’s getting there,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said on Sunday (Twitter video link via CLNS Media). “He’s getting better. He’s day-to-day.”

Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:

The three injured Cavaliers who returned for Game 3 – Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and De’Andre Hunter – were no longer on the injury report ahead of Game 4 on Sunday evening. Although head coach Kenny Atkinson said the trio has recovered well in the past couple days, he identified Garland as the player the Cavs are still most worried about and whose minutes will be monitored the closest (Twitter links via Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star). “He’s doing what he can do. I’ll just put it that way,” Atkinson said of the point guard. “You saw it the other night. I got him in and out. It’s something he’s grinding through. There’s been a lot of stuff that’s gone into him playing.”
The Timberwolves‘ injury report for Monday’s Game 4 is clean, the team announced today (via Twitter). Rookie guard Rob Dillingham had been the only player listed on the injury report as of late due to a sprained ankle. He was upgraded to available for Game 3 and is now off the report altogether, though he’s unlikely to play outside of garbage time.
Nuggets forward Hunter Tyson, who has only played in garbage time during the postseason, was inactive for Game 4 on Sunday due to a right ankle sprain, according to the club (Twitter link).

Northwest Notes: SGA, Williams, Adelman, Randle

May 11th, 2025 at 3:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

All-NBA Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has taken responsibility for his underwhelming play in an overtime Game 3 road loss to the Nuggets, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

The 6’6″ pro, the presumptive 2025 MVP, scored an inefficient 18 points while shooting just 7-of-22 from the field and didn’t attempt a shot during the overtime frame. All-Star Oklahoma City forward Jalen Williams scored a career playoff-best 32 points.

“The game gets slower, execution matters more,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “In those moments when the game slows down, it usually comes down to your best players making shots and making plays. I didn’t do a good enough job of that tonight, and I think that’s the main reason for the outcome.”

Nuggets stars Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. all made up for MVP center Nikola Jokic‘s similarly inefficient night. Each member of that triumvirate scored at least 21 points, with Murray’s 27 leading the way.

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

The ascent of Williams as a true offensive release valve for Gilgeous-Alexander is a testament to the Thunder‘s patient team-building, asserts Rylan Stiles of Thunder On SI. Despite winning 68 games during the regular season, the Thunder have struggled mightily against Denver, and currently trail the Nuggets 2-1 in their conference semifinal series, with Game 4 ongoing. The team’s young core may need more time to jell together in the postseason to really do the kind of damage it may eventually be capable of. Still, Williams has developed a steadier hand as a scorer. The third-year forward is averaging 22.6 points, 5.3 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks per night across seven playoff contests so far.
Just two years removed from their first-ever title as a franchise, the seasoned Nuggets seem to be capitalizing on a playoff experience edge over most of the Thunder’s young core, observes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (subscription required). Interim Denver coach David Adelman reflected on Oklahoma City’s relative inexperience in the postseason. “We were young once, and we handled it pretty well,” Adelman said. “And they do, too. That’s why they won so many games. The reason they haven’t played a lot of close games is they have completely blown the doors off people the whole season. If I was coaching a team, I would rather do that than play 55 four-point games.” As Durando notes, the Thunder logged the best point differential in league history this past regular season — but thanks in part to that, the team notched a scant 66 “clutch” minutes, the least in a season for any team in the 21st century.
The Timberwolves rode a 24-point, 12-assist, 10-rebound triple-double from Julius Randle to carve out a 102-97 Game 3 victory and a 2-1 series edge over Golden State, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “I feel like I just got a lot of different tools, you know what I mean?” Randle said. “It’s really about using my mind and taking what the defense gives me. If they don’t double-team me, score. If they double-team me, find my guys.”

Wolves Notes: Edwards, Conley, Alexander-Walker, Randle

May 10th, 2025 at 7:28pm CST by Arthur Hill

Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards appears to have fully overcome the injury scare he suffered in Game 2, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). Edwards had to leave the game in the second quarter after reinjuring his left ankle, but he was able to return after halftime.

Meeting with reporters before tonight’s contest, Minnesota coach Chris Finch said Edwards will be “hopefully as close to full go as you can be,” McMenamin relays. Finch added that Edwards participated in Friday’s workout and didn’t show any “ill effects” from the injury.

There were fears that Edwards could be lost for the series or possibly longer when Golden State big man Trayce Jackson-Davis accidentally landed on his leg on a play under the basket, per Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. Two team staff members helped Edwards up, but he wasn’t able to put any weight on the ankle as they assisted him to the locker room.

“This one I was really worried about, actually,” Finch admitted after the game. “There’s lots of ways being an elite athlete pay off, being able to shake those things off is one of them.”

There’s more on the Timberwolves:

Oklahoma City, Cleveland and Boston posted the league’s best records during the regular season, but they’re all trailing in the second round, which has the Wolves believing the race for the NBA title is wide open, Goodwill adds in the same piece. “The message I’ve gathered from watching the league over the last week: This thing is anybody’s for that taking, you know,” Mike Conley said. “Why not us? Why not? Why can’t we do it? My urgency is at an all-time high. These guys are urgent. Just make them understand you don’t get this chance too often. I’m on my last couple of runs. I want them to feel that.”
Nickeil Alexander-Walker was able to break out of his shooting slump in Game 2 by focusing on things other than scoring, writes Alec Lewis of The Athletic. Alexander-Walker prioritized rebounding, defense and playing with pace — all of which helped him earn a rotation role in Minnesota — and would up setting a personal career playoff high with 20 points.
Julius Randle was the Wolves’ best player in Game 2 with 24 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists, but he was benched for a while in the third quarter for an emotional outburst that led to a defensive lapse, per La Velle E. Neal III of The Star-Tribune. Randle was upset that an official ruled that the ball went out of bounds off him, resulting in a turnover, and Jonathan Kuminga threw down a breakaway dunk while he was reacting. “You know me, being a competitor,” Randle said. “I wanted to stay out there, you know? Kind of ride the ship. But, you know, it didn’t necessarily go like that. I was a little hot.”

Wolves Notes: Edwards, Conley, Gobert, Fan Ejection, Dillingham

May 9th, 2025 at 8:08pm CST by Eli Cohen

After being upset by the Warriors at home in Game 1, Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves won Game 2 by a margin of 117-93. For the Wolves, who led the game from start to finish, the biggest scare of the night came when Edwards had to leave the game in the second quarter after re-injuring the left ankle that he had previously hurt in Game 4 of the first round.

The injury occurred when Warriors big man Trayce Jackson-Davis stepped on Edwards’ ankle after meeting him at the rim for a block. Head coach Chris Finch immediately feared the worst.

“This one, I was really planning on not seeing him the rest of the game, to be honest with you,” Finch said, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

The Wolves managed to hold off the Warriors, who were missing their own star in Stephen Curry after he left Game 1 with a Grade 1 hamstring strain, for the rest of the half while Edwards got worked on in the locker room.

“Once we got to like the third movement in my ankle, I’m like, ‘All right, it’s starting to feel good. If we tape it, I’ll see how it feels,'” Edwards said. “[Wolves VP of medical operations and performance David Hines] does a great job of making sure I’m good before I get out there, so big shoutout to David.”

Edwards was able to return to the game in the second half and lead the Wolves to their commanding victory in a game he called “the biggest game of our career.” Afterward, he told reporters he planned on being good to go for the crucial Game 3 in Golden State — he’s not listed on the injury report for Saturday’s contest.

Here’s more on the Wolves:

Mike Conley is known for his stoic floor generalship, but in Game 2 of the series against the Warriors, he made a point to set a tone, both in terms of defense and demonstrativeness. “I just wanted to really show the guys I’m going to do whatever I can for the team, sacrifice,” Conley said, per The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski. “That’s all I was focused on for the majority of the game. I know our guys kind of fed off the energy I was bringing.” The Wolves, led by Edwards and Julius Randle, are a team built on defense, trash talk, and a chip that never leaves their shoulder. With Minnesota 1-0 heading into the game, Conley focused on channeling that energy to bring out the best in the team. For at least one game, the strategy worked.
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch took umbrage with the level of physicality in Game 1 of Minnesota’s second-round series with the Warriors, particularly when it came to the contact Golden State was able to inflict on star big man Rudy Gobert. Despite a relatively similar number of overall fouls called (Minnesota had 21 to Golden State’s 18), Finch wasn’t satisfied. “We sent a bunch of those clips into the league. In fact, I’m not sure I know another player in the league with Rudy’s pedigree that is allowed to be physically beaten on the way he is. And so, we’ve got to address that one way or another,” Finch said, according to McMenamin. He wasn’t the only one frustrated, as Warriors coach Steve Kerr had his own litany of complaints, especially in regards to how Curry was guarded before getting injured. If Game 2 of the series is any indication, the clips sent in didn’t have much of an impact, as the Wolves were called for 22 fouls that led to 25 Warriors free throws, while the Warriors were called for 16 fouls that led to 20 Wolves free throws.
Game 2 also saw a Minnesota fan ejected from the game, and another one leave voluntarily before they could be ejected. In a press release (via Twitter), the Timberwolves cited the fan “… Violating the NBA Fan Code of Conduct in an incident involving Draymond Green.” The second fan was alleged to have made racially charged comments at Green, though Wolves reporter Chris Hine reported (via Twitter) that the first fan may have been the one to use that language. Kerr thanked the Wolves organization for how they dealt with the unfortunate situation. “The Wolves handled that beautifully and Draymond is handling it well,” he said.
Rookie point guard Rob Dillingham has been upgraded to questionable for Game 3, per Timberwolves PR (via Twitter). Dillingham has missed the previous eight games with a right ankle sprain. The 20-year-old scoring guard was only averaging 3.8 minutes from the beginning of March onward, so he may not play even if he’s active.

Timberwolves Coach Chris Finch Criticizes Anthony Edwards

May 7th, 2025 at 10:49am CST by Dana Gauruder

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch called out his star player after Minnesota’s 99-88 loss to the Warriors on Tuesday night.

Finch was clearly irked by what he felt was a lackluster performance from Anthony Edwards.

“What is there to talk about? You’re the leader of the team,” Finch said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “You’ve got to come out and set the tone. If your shot is not going, you still have to carry the energy. If I’ve got to talk to guys about having the right energy coming into an opening second-round game, then we’re not on the same page.”

Edwards didn’t make a field goal in the first half as Minnesota was held to 31 first-half points. He finished with 23 points on 9-for-23 shooting as the Timberwolves failed to take advantage of Stephen Curry‘s hamstring injury.

“It starts with Ant,” Finch said. “I thought he struggled, and then you could just kind of see the light go out a little bit for a while.”

In an era when two coaches on playoff-bound teams were fired late in the regular season, it’s unusual for a head coach to criticize one of the league’s stars that strongly. However, Finch has plenty of financial security. He signed a four-year extension last summer that carries through the 2027/28 season.

Edwards didn’t strike back at Finch’s comments, seemingly offering a diplomatic response.

“People are going to try to blame whatever, blame whoever; they can blame me,” Edwards said. “[But] we just didn’t play good enough.

“… Tonight, we didn’t shoot the ball well, but tonight is over. So, next game we’ll shoot the ball really well.”

Finch was upset in general with Minnesota’s offensive decision-making, feeling the team didn’t take advantage of Golden State’s 18 turnovers.

“Our transition decision-making was diabolical,” Finch said. “Obviously, we couldn’t hit a shot, but I didn’t like the fact that we couldn’t repeatedly generate good shots. We should’ve been able to.”

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