Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch has become the latest to complain about the officiating in the NBA Playoffs, but he tacked on something of a threat toward the Golden State Warriors as part of his complaint.
Finch felt the Warriors got away with a number of holds and fouls, particularly on center Rudy Gobert, during their 99-88 Game 1 win Tuesday at Target Center in Minneapolis, Mn. The Timberwolves coach said the team sent clips to the league office for review, but suggested the team might fight fire with fire going forward if officials do not crack down on what he sees as overly physical play.
“We’ll certainly try to take justice into our own hands whenever we can. I think that’s the nature of physical sport,” Finch told reporters Wednesday.
Chris Finch added that the Wolves will have to “take justice into our own hands” and push the boundaries of physical play if the officiating doesn’t clean things up pic.twitter.com/WL5XggUSu0
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 7, 2025
Presumably, there is a bit of gamesmanship going on here from Finch’s perspective. The officials will not want to let the series get out of hand. At the same time, it is quite something to hear this kind of comment after just one game.
Gobert has some infamous history with one Warriors player. That could certainly come into play during the series if the physicality continues, and in the playoffs, there is no reason to believe anyone is about to tone it down.
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