Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch addressed defensive struggles following Thursday’s 120-115 loss to the Chicago Bulls at Target Center. “Our inability to contain drives right now is really hurting us,” Finch said. “Discipline on the closeouts, overhelping in places we didn’t want to overhelp, and a readiness to contain the next drive is missing.”
Finch pointed to specific breakdowns in the fourth quarter. “Ant missed out the closeout on Coby White in the corner. He’s got to get all the way out there with a better contest,” he explained. The Timberwolves committed costly turnovers late, including Jaden McDaniels losing the ball out of bounds, which contributed to Chicago’s 9-0 run in the final 1:06.
When asked about improving defensive focus midgame, Finch said, “We definitely get it in the middle of the game at times. In the fourth quarter, we were able to get a bunch of stops in a row by doing the things we needed to do with a little more urgency.”
The coach also reflected on offensive execution. “I thought in general we could have gotten into the paint a little more and made the kick out in the next play. Sometimes we settled for shots over people when we should have had kick outs.” Bench scoring was also an issue, as Minnesota went 2-of-15 from outside, something Finch called “a shot in the arm we desperately need.”
Finch addressed foul trouble, noting, “Anthony [Edwards] had two fouls early, but I didn’t think it affected the rhythm of the game. Normally we play him the whole first quarter, but we managed. The last three minutes we struggled to score, they tightened the game up, but it didn’t affect our overall flow offensively.”
The Timberwolves fell behind early but showed resiliency in the fourth, holding the Bulls to stops and staying in the game until Chicago’s late run. Finch stressed the importance of returning to fundamentals. “We have no defensive personality right now. We have to get back to playing defense and winning the point of attack,” he said.
Regarding rotation adjustments, Finch commented, “We’ve had a 10-man rotation the last two games. Adding another player has been a challenge. Played three minutes, so not sure how much those are really rotation minutes, but we’re trying to get him minutes when we can.”
Minnesota drops to 27-18 with the loss, marking their fourth straight defeat, while Chicago improves to 22-22, extending their winning streak to three. The Timberwolves host Golden State on Saturday, and the Bulls take on Boston.
