After colliding with his own player Mike Conley during Game 4 of the best-of-seven series against the Suns this week, coach Chris Finch had to be carried out of the court and finally underwent knee surgery. The tactician is now recovering and is expected to return to lead the Wolves from the bench in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Nuggets.
Chris’ health procedure was intended to repair his ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee this Wednesday, and reports confirm that it was a success. The Minnesota team cannot guarantee that their coach will be back for the start of the next round, but will have assistant Micah Nori in his place in case he’s unable.
However, this hasn’t prevented Finch to directed the introduction to his squad’s strategy this week before heading into surgery. The idea is that if he can’t make the bench, he could still instruct the players in the locker room for pregame and halftime meetings.
Wolves HC Chris Finch is at practice with crutches after receiving knee surgery
pic.twitter.com/tgfzl7fTzh— mnsportnews (@mnspnews) May 2, 2024
“In typical Finchy fashion, he’s like, ‘I don’t want to sit there and send text messages to somebody behind the bench,’” his assistant coach assured when attending the press this Wednesday.
The truth is, this organization has a strong chemistry as it is, as they’ve largely enjoyed the same rotation players as last campaign, plus a coaching staff that has been together for three years already. The team is convinced that his absence won’t disrupt their dynamic too much.
The respect for Chris is enormous in the locker rock, especially as he was recently voted third in the race for the NBA Coach of the Year award, which ended in Mark Daigneault’s hands.
“He does not want to be the focus. He trusts all of us. He trusts the players. He’s like, ‘You guys do yourselves. You’ve done enough,’” Nori assured. “The players, at the end of the day, are going to be the ones who decide this series.”
Starting center Rudy Gobert assured that the motivations around the Minnesota camp are high. “He made us all feel better to see him in great spirits the next day and being able to travel back with us,” the big man said. “It’s unfortunate, obviously, but we’re here to support him and we’re going to try to make him proud from a distance.”
Mike Conley just earned the 2023-24 NBA Teammate Of The Year Award after colliding with his coach
Conley, who was the athlete that collided with his own coach during Game 4 of their first-round matchups against Phoenix, has won the NBA’s Teammate of the Year award on Wednesday. When asked about Finch’s situation, he assured that his assistant can pull off a good job from the bench.
“I’m not saying Finchy isn’t funny and all that stuff, but Finchy can seem a little more serious than Micah, and it’s good to have that kind of balance,” said the Wolves point guard. “Guys really respect Micah and what he brings to our team.”
Chris congratulated his player after becoming only the second Minnesota athlete to ever be named Teammate of the Year, after Jamal Crawford did in 2018.
“His teammates love him; they look up to him. And then it’s all backed by the fact that he can still go out and play at a super high level,” the Wolves coach said of Conley.
