Chris Finch has been unhappy about his players for the past week. “We come out here and we bulls–t and it starts with our top guys,” he said even after a win against the Hawks. The Timberwolves coach has since tried to emphasize the team to step up. His frustrations however didn’t stop tonight. In an uncharacteristic display against the Suns, he received his first ejection. But Anthony Edwards wasn’t surprised.

To be honest, none of the Wolves players were.

In the morning during the film session, several of the teams’ players claimed Finch’s aggression reached its apex. In particular, Ant-Man had to bear his ire the most. “I think he went to sleep last night with violence on his mind… He wasn’t in the right place today because the way the way he did us in film today particularly me, it was it was a tough day for us,” the Wolves cornerstone revealed.

However, none of them were displeased by it. In fact, Edwards called Finch singling him out as the “right thing”. It was mainly because of what the film showed to team. In Anthony Edwards’ eyes, it brought out their nonchalant display in recent games. “They look bad”, the 23 year old said. Still, Edwards did feel it was a test of his “manhood” when Finch unloaded on him.

It was only after some self-reflection that he realized “I would have been a fool in film to say something back”. He even told one of his close friends about the interaction. And all he could think about is the head coach drilled a strong point into himself and the team. He told his friend “Finchy got on my butt today but he was right you know what I’m saying so I had to tighten up,”.

And well, that’s what the team did.

Anthony Edwards assured Coach Finch he would pull the team together

In the third quarter when Finch faced his first elimination, his anger leaked out. He nearly charged at the referee before Edwards stepped in. He took the coach to the sides to calm him down. But that wasn’t it. The Wolves star remembered the meeting in the morning and wanted to assure Finch that his message was well received.

His ejection helped the entire team band together. “It gave us a bunch of energy. I mean when your coach show that he’s into the game he was yeah. I don’t think he liked the way the game was going and you know they threw him out and we had his back. I told him I got you. So I definitely had his back,” Edwards said after the game.

At the time of Finch’s ejection, the Wolves were trailing by one possession to the Suns. But the first half was disappointing in the eyes of the head coach. They went down as much as 12 in the second quarter. Hence, something had to change. And that was effort. The Timberwolves combined to outscore the Suns by 12 in the second half.

Anthony Edwards had himself a night, scoring a team-high 33 points. After a slumber spell, Julius Randle also contributed with 28 points, playing with force and establishing his presence early. For Finch, although he wasn’t on the sidelines, this might be a positive sign as the team recognizes his investment in them.

Who knows, this could be the moment it all turns for the Timberwolves.