DENVER – Minnesota coach Chris Finch was on the second row of the bench when the Timberwolves opened their second-round series in Denver on Saturday after undergoing knee surgery this week.
Although Finch was present, assistant coach Micah Nori roamed the Wolves sideline, instructing players and calling timeouts against the defending champion Nuggets.
Finch used crutches to attend the pregame press conference, where he said he and his knee felt “pretty good, all things considered.”
Finch had his torn right patellar tendon repaired on Wednesday following a lateral collision with Mike Conley late in the Game 4 victory in Phoenix that gave the Timberwolves a first-round series sweep.
The idea was that Finch would watch the action from a suite if there wasn’t enough room for him on the sideline to safely extend his leg. But the Wolves configured their seats to allow him to be nearby. His knee was protected on the edge of the scorer’s table. There was an empty chair next to him.
“I will be on the bench, but the interaction and flow of the game will largely be managed by Micah,” Finch explained. “Obviously, I’m not in a position to be able to get up, call timeouts, interact with the players, that kind of thing, being there with the coaches and with the players in the group, it will be the same thing.
Finch installed Minnesota’s game plan for the Nuggets before he had surgery.
These teams know each other well, with front-office executive Tim Connelly helping build the Nuggets before leaving in 2022 for a similar job in Minnesota. Finch and Nori were also on Nuggets coach Michael Malone’s staff. Timberwolves point guard Monte Morris was drafted by Denver in 2017 and spent five seasons with the Nuggets, while Denver assistant Ryan Saunders served as the Timberwolves’ head coach for parts of three seasons.
“I think it’s cool, it doesn’t really matter to me,” Malone said of the familiarity between the teams. “Whether it’s people we know or not, when the jump ball goes up, they get in our way and we’re in their way.
“Chris Finch, who I believe will be – I can’t wait to see this – somewhat sidelined tonight, he was on my team for a brief period. … Yes, there are a lot of guys (with connections) but this all goes by window when the jump ball goes up, man. This is about competition in its highest form.
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