The Minnesota Timberwolves just lost to the Los Angeles Lakers. Even though the scoreline was relatively close, aside from the 4th quarter, the Lakers dominated the T-Wolves. And Minnesota’s trajectory took a massive turn for the worse when Anthony Edwards got himself ejected after receiving two technicals. However, head coach Chris Finch thinks this is no worse than the flu.

“It is what it is on a nightly basis,” said Finch about the officiating tonight at the post-game press conference. And when a reporter asked him how Ant was getting suspended, Finch was surprisingly nonchalant in his response. “I mean, it’s no different than if you had a flu, you know. [We play the] next guy up, so,” trailed off Finch. 

But the T-Wolves’ head coach did say that Ant needs to buck up and work on controlling himself during games. ” He’s got to be better. He’s had too many outbursts. I think a lot of them are deserved. They’re going to miss some calls from time to time, for sure,” said Finch. “So he’s got to be better,” he reiterated.

Of course, it’s a growing concern as the player remains valuable to the team. He averages 27.3 points and 6.0 rebounds, which takes the Minnesota Timberwolves forward. Without the explosive energy and controlled aggression in the pain, the T-Wolves suffer, to say the least. Yet, he must improve his conduct. Everybody who watches the game will probably have the same opinion.

Anthony Edwards has 16 technicals to his name this season. All this is on top of being the most fined player in the league in 2024/25. So, Ant certainly does need to do better. His potential suspension leaves the T-Wolves without their best player against the Utah Jazz tomorrow. With Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle already missing, not having Ant as well is a massive blow to Minnesota.

Especially when we saw today that players like Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid have trouble consistently stepping up for the T-Wolves. Something which Chris Finch also commented on during the press conference.

Chris Finch sends a stern message to Anthony Edwards and the rest of the Timberwolves squad!

Despite attempting to mount another late-game comeback, the T-Wolves simply couldn’t topple the Lakers. Rookie Terrence Shannon Jr was the only player to break the 20-point mark among the T-Wolves. Ant had the second-highest points at 18 despite his 3rd quarter ejection. These stats make it clear that the rest of the Timberwolves’ players need to step up.

This is something Chris Finch addressed directly at the post-game press conference. “I didn’t like our body language and our energy from some of our guys. Things were hard out there,” said the T-Wolves’ head coach. He then directly addressed two players he thought could have done better in Anthony Edwards’ absence. 

“Guys like Naz [Reid] and Jaden [McDaniels], they got to play a little better than they did tonight. You know, got to play with a little more force. I thought they fought the game. Like they didn’t make the plays,” said Finch. The duo of Reid and McDaniels did underperform tonight, especially Naz. 

After dropping 27 points and leading the comeback against the Thunder, Naz was unusually quiet tonight. He only registered 3 points tonight, going 0-5 in 3-point attempts and 1-10 in his field goal attempts. What’s worse is he wasn’t able to contribute much defensively either, with no blocks or steals to his name. It’s not a great time to go missing!

The player enters the free agency next season, with this game probably an audition for the Lakers role. Yet, things went south for Reid. While Jaden McDaniels fared better with 15 points and 8 rebounds, it’s still not a performance he can flaunt.

Finch hit the nail on the head when it came to his team’s performance tonight. But will the T-Wolves players be able to take their coach’s words in stride and show the world who they are in their upcoming game against the Utah Jazz?

Let us know!