Charles Barkley gets real about Chris Finch’s Anthony Edwards treatment

The Minnesota Timberwolves eliminated the Los Angeles Lakers in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs in impressive fashion. A big reason why was the continued growth of Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards under head coach Chris Finch.

Anthony Edwards has seen his game grow and develop since Chris Finch became head coach of the Timberwolves, and former NBA star Charles Barkley spoke about how Finch has challenged Edwards in the playoffs so far and how beneficial that is.

“This man is coaching his team. . .it’s not criticism, it’s coaching,” Barkley said. “Coach your team, get on everybody’s a**, that’s part of coaching. . .what that does as a coach is it keeps your credibility.”

Barkley was referring to the Timberwolves’ Game 1 loss to the Golden State Warriors when Finch used his postgame press conference to essentially call out Edwards for not setting the tone and for not playing up to his standards. In Game 1, Edwards finished with 23 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, three steals and one blocked shot.

But he shot 0-of-9 from the field in the first half, including 0-of-6 in the first quarter, as the Wolves fell behind, 44-31, by halftime. It appeared as if Finch’s words had an effect for Game 2 though. Edwards already had seven points in the first half, to with a well-balanced stat line of four rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Through six playoff games so far, Edwards is averaging 26.2 points, 9.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.5 steals with splits of 41.8 percent shooting from the field, 32.1 percent shooting from the three-point line and 77.8 percent shooting from the free-throw line. Edwards showed tremendous patience and growth against the Lakers in reading the defense, recognizing the double-teams and making the right plays, especially in the clutch.

With the Wolves trailing the Warriors, 0-1 in their best-of-seven Western Conference Semifinals, they’re going to need elevated play from Edwards to even the series up.