Chris Finch Calls Out Timberwolves Rookie After Ugly Loss vs Bucks

The Minnesota Timberwolves were -9.5 point favorites on Wednesday night at home vs a Milwaukee Bucks team without Giannis Antetokounmpo, among other key contributors. But ‘that’s why they play the game’.

From the second quarter on vs Milwaukee, the Wolves were chasing on the scoreboard. They’d fall down by a handful (or two) of points, then claw it back to even, just to fall behind again.

Minnesota Timberwolves vs Bucks’ disappointing end

But then, down 99-94 with 2:51 remaining, the Timberwolves made their final run of the game, outscoring the Bucks 7-0 over the next two minutes to take a 101-99 lead, which finished on a Naz Reid exclamation-point corner three, with just 47.1 seconds left. Unfortunately, those were the last points Minnesota scored.

After Naz’ clutch bucket, Milwaukee proceeded to put the ball in the basket on both of the Bucks’ next two possessions. Meanwhile, Anthony Edwards went 0-for-2 (10-for-33 shooting in the game) on the other side of the floor, both pull-up jumpers.

Ant’s final miss came on his 17th three-point attempt of a game in which he made just four. Final score: Bucks 103, Wolves 101

ANTHONY EDWARDS DOES NOT DO OVERTIMES 🔥🔥🔥pic.twitter.com/E0hdLpmlK1

— Hater Central (@TheHateCentral) February 13, 2025

Asked after the game if he was mad about his final two possessions vs Milwaukee, Edwards shrugged it off and chalked it up to ‘some fall and some don’t’. He remained adamant too, that the final shot above was better than any other shot he could have gotten.

Wolves coach Chris Finch calls out rookie Rob Dillingham

Head coach Chris Finch agreed with his superstar, telling reporters that he had no problem with the Wolves’ final shot or the game’s final possession. Instead, he pointed to other flaws in the Minnesota Timberwolves performance Wednesday.

Yes, Ant had a rough night from the field (29% FG, 28 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST) but Finchy was less concerned about his superstar and more concerned about his rookie. The 5th-year head coach made very clear during his postgame press conference that Minnesota’s biggest problem vs Milwaukee was their lack of organization and sense of calm offensively.

Finch specifically called out No. 8 overall draft pick Rob Dillingham, bluntly telling gathered media that Rob “is trying to search his [own] offense too much” and that he needs to search more for smarter pace, how to get into the paint and pass more…

“We got the ball in Joe’s hands to calm things down a little bit. We certainly need more from Rob in that situation, we need more of a point guard. Right now, I think he is trying to search his offense too much and he needs to search pace, search the paint and search the pass.”

Chris Finch postgame press conference – Timberwolves vs Bucks

With veteran point guard Mike Conley out, Finch was hoping Dillingham would grow up a little bit, as a point guard last night… and the rookie failed to answer the call. That’s why the Wolves eventually turned the offense over to 37-year-old Joe Ingles.

More from Finch on Rob Dillingham’s tough night vs Milwaukee

On the night, 20-year-old Rob Dillingham finished with 13 minutes off the bench, where he shot just 1-for-5 (0-for-2 from deep). But that’s only the beginning of what was a hideous Wednesday night box score — 2 PTS, 0 AST, 1 REB, 1 TO, -6 (+/-). Finch wasn’t done talking about Rob, though.

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When asked by independent Minnesota Timberwolves reporter Dane Moore if it is critical they find a calming point guard presence who can control the game when necessary, while Conley is out, Finch said “yeah for sure” and again brought the conversation back to his rookie point guard.

Dane Moore: “Does that just feel critical in whatever this time is that Mike [Conley] is going to be out for, is just having, whether it’s Joe or just in general, having more control in the halfcourt?”

Finch: “Yeah for sure. We need to get more organized. We talked about that the other day after the Cleveland game. There are certain lineups out there… and again, this is what we need from Rob. We need him to get us into [plays] and get us more organized and play with some structure.”

Chris Finch postgame press conference – Timberwolves vs Bucks

I would disagree with Chris Finch, when it comes to the final possession of last night’s game. The Wolves, most importantly, need Anthony Edwards to be better in clutch time, where he has consistently struggled early on in his career. But I absolutely agree with his assessment on Rob Dillingham.

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Until he learns how to control the pace of play and learn more to take what defenses are giving him, Minnesota will not be able to move on from Mike Conley… which isn’t a good thing since the 37-year-old point guard is on one of the worst seasons of his NBA career.

How will Dillingham react to this type of public criticism and why did Finch feel like he had to go there with media, regarding his point guard. In almost all scenarios, these things are worked on and discussed between player and coach long before called out publicly like this. So… what is Rob struggling to understand behind the scenes?