Timberwolves coach Chris Finch finds physicality ‘under control’ as playoffs continue

After the first game of the Western Conference semifinals against Golden State, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch complained about all the fouling, shoving, holding and pushing officials allowed the undersized Warriors against center Rudy Gobert. Golden State coach Steve Kerr in turn complained about the “bear hugs” put on superstar guard Stephen Curry.

“I got my complaints, too,” Kerr said. “Trust me, we all do.”

The Wolves have advanced to the conference finals for a second consecutive year, this time with five-game victories over the Los Angeles Lakers and the Warriors, and Finch said he sees the officiating moderating as the playoffs progress.

“Physicality is way off,” Finch said after Sunday’s practice. “I think the physicality has kind of recalibrated itself appropriately as the playoffs have gone on.”

Both Finch and Kerr sent video clips to the NBA office supporting their claims after Game 1 of the second round.

“I thought when the playoffs first started, it was kind of out of control at times,” Finch said. “But if feels like it’s more under control, appropriate now. It’s not affecting the game as much or the players. They’ve also gotten used to it. I still think the game is fast. I don’t think the game has slowed down to the point where everybody talks about the playoffs being a half-court game.

“I don’t see that. I still see both teams trying to get out and run and play with tempo, even more so now because the defenses have stiffened, if you will, during the playoffs. It’s a significant difference.”

“They call it however they call it,” Reid said. “We just try to put our heads down, be physical, attack the rim at a high level, all that good stuff. So, I don’t really know if we’re too keyed in on that. [The officials] might be, I don’t know. For me, I just play the game.”

This time last year, the Wolves had only two days to transition from the emotions of the largest comeback (20 points) in Game 7 history at Denver to their conference finals opener, a home loss to Dallas.

Now they will have had five days off between closing out Golden State at Target Center and playing Game 1 of the conference finals at Oklahoma City.

Wolves star Anthony Edwards said the Wolves have used that time to get game repetitions in during practice to stay sharp after such a long rest.

“That’s the only way, getting up and down,” he said. “So, we’ll be ready for Game 1.”

“Because we got a little break,” he said. “We got like four to five days to rest up, get treatment, so it feels a little difference. A lot more rested, for sure. ... There’s no benefits from going through it last year. We’re just trying to be more prepared this year and not come out slow in Game 1 with all this time we have had.”

The Wolves plan to fly out Monday for the conference finals’ first two games in Oklahoma City after the Thunder ousted the Nuggets with a 125-93 rout in Game 7 on Sunday.