The 2025 NBA Playoffs have been entertaining and filled with close games. Despite all the amazing performances, physicality has stood out in these games, which has leveled up from the 2024-25 regular season. The series between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers has been physical, but it is not as drastic as the others.
Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch does not like how physicality has taken a turn in the NBA Playoffs. It is the norm in the postseason, but it might be too much for the teams and players.
The Timberwolves struggled with the Lakers' physical defense in Game 2, which probably influenced Finch's thoughts. However, he did note that the other series in the Playoffs are what he's talking about.
He would want the Timberwolves to play with more freedom to operate, but that is the nature of the NBA Playoffs. The physicality goes up, and the offenses struggle with unlocking the fantastic defense the Lakers played in Game 2.
Finch Knows The Playoffs Are Having Too Much Physicality
While most of the NBA world appreciates the shift in how basketball is played in the Playoffs, it might be too sudden of a change for the teams and players who struggle.
Finch has seen it with the Golden State Warriors vs Houston Rockets series, which has taken a turn with its physicality.
"It feels like physicality without a purpose, it's disrupted the flow. If there's not a fight in that Houston-Golden State series I'd be surprised. It feels like it's on the edge every single time," Finch said in practice ahead of Game 3. "You play 82 games in a certain way, and then they flip the switch. And I do worry about the ability to be able to control that. But that's what they want, and that's what we're getting right now."
He made sure to note that he is not criticizing the way the series against the Lakers is being officiated, but he does want teams and players to be better protected for Playoff basketball.
The League Could Step In More About Physicality
The popular opinion players and coaches of past eras hold is that the NBA is struggling without physicality. That changes during the Playoffs, which has been an awkward shift because it has convinced some people that it's too physical now.
Finch knows physicality is normal, but there could be repercussions like what happened with the Jimmy Butler injury for Golden State or the horrible Ja Morant fall in Game 3 of the series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Memphis Grizzlies.
The NBA and its commissioner, Adam Silver, could help prevent excessive physicality. However, that won't happen because this makes for competitive games, albeit not as entertaining as people would like from the world's best basketball league.
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