Anthony Edwards had one job—avoid another technical foul. With 15 already in the bag, he couldn’t afford one more against the Lakers. But keeping cool isn’t easy when your team is slipping toward a loss. So, when the refs ejected Ant in the third quarter, they made his suspension feel inevitable. Fueling the fire, the NBA fined him $35K for a slow exit and tossing the ball into the stands. Yet, some blame Timberwolves HC Chris Finch for the team’s unruly ways this season, especially Anthony Edwards.

On The Dane Moore NBA Podcast, the host and his guest, Kyle Theige, opined that Coach Finch could do a better job of instilling a little more emotional control in the players on his roster who have problems with the officials. Well, this is a clear reference to Antman and his repeated beef with the referees in the game. “Finch has to help himself and, I think, the rest of the roster with this. I do think it’s an important topic because it could literally cost them—will cost them—games for the rest of the season,” Dane Moore noted.

Meanwhile, Kyle Theige has a different plan for the Minnesota Timberwolves head coach. He admits he’s putting a lot of responsibilities on Chris Finch, but stated, “This is maybe why I sometimes have been like, “I wish Finch would take more technicals.” I really do believe if Chris Finch had more technicals, Ant would have less.” Theige further added: “Maybe that’s like talking on both sides of my mouth. But when I saw Finch in Phoenix live get thrown out, Ant went from “I’m mad” to “Oh bleep, I’m going to go hug coach and get him off the court,” and then we’re all just going to respond.”

Earlier in January 2025, officials ejected Chris Finch from the game vs. the Phoenix Suns at the Footprint Center. The head coach had picked two techs in the same game, hence the ejection. It was so abrupt and came out of nowhere—at least that’s what it looked like. Later, the officials released a statement clarifying that Finch foul-mouthed them at a certain point in the game.

The usual angry and aggressive Anthony Edwards had taken a rare stance on the day of Finch’s ejection. He was the first one to go and try to calm the HC. Therefore, Kyle Theige believes that if the 55-year-old took more technical fouls in a game, it would save Antman from his ill fate with penalties.

Meanwhile, the side effects of Ant’s fouls and suspension need to be discussed. What role can Chris Finch play to help his team from the consequences of the mishaps?

Anthony Edwards’ penalties could do more harm to the Wolves’ NBA future

“Whatever the issue is, however, it’s been addressed in the past, it can’t be addressed like that moving forward,” the experts sternly noted. They have already dropped down to the 9th place in the Western Conference. Anthony Edwards’ absence in the game vs. the Utah Jazz was evident. Chris Finch’s boys couldn’t win, losing 116-117 to their opponents.

“They could find their way, all the way up to four if they catch lightning in a bottle. But that’s if they’re focused for the next 22 games on playing basketball. Playing the right, you know—God forbid—nine or 10 guys. Not all this other stuff. And the Ant ejection—both because of the second technical,” they further noted. Right now, the Timberwolves have a major task: focusing on the game. And Coach Finch has one task, which is to instill ‘emotional control‘ in his players.

The path ahead is bumpy, and losing isn’t an option. As the potential next face of the NBA, Anthony Edwards now has to be cautious. But for Chris Finch, he might have to take bigger risks to protect his star boy. How will such a strategy roll out for Minnesota? We’ll have to wait and watch.