Chris Finch addresses media after blowout win over Trail Blazers

Chris Finch addresses media after blowout win over Trail Blazers

This is your 20th Road Victory this team is kind of like really figuring out how to win both at home and on the road um is that just a natural progression that you had I think you know I think starts with defense you know defense goes everywhere um you know guys just you

Know I think um are able to kind of keep the crowd out of it a lot of times when you’re able to get stops like we we can um and then it just it comes down to Smart basketball on the other end of the floor you know um I’ve always lik

Playing on the road I just there something about the day on the road where like everything you do leads to the game you know at home sometimes there could be some more distractions you know you have people around things you know your routine isn’t as as as uh

Regimented as it is on the road so you had a moment in the second and third quarter where it looked like they were coming back and then you you get it back late in the third quarter what kind of went haywire for you guys I mean our defense you know second quarter defense

Like 37 points I think they shot 56 from uh three and 65 from the field that you know we just kind of um you know let our defensive intensity drop um you know I thought we can’t you know we we started well and then you know the challenge

Went against us and we kind of got a little frustrated there for a few plays and then they they tighten the game up again um but you know a getting downhill and pick and roll was key we found our defensive intensity um just weren’t ready enough defensively like I thought

They coming at us early and we just weren’t ready to take their first uh kind of throw trust um but we did a better job you know of kind of winning that battle how hard is it to in a game in a game like this when you’re up so

Big they start coming at you to regain kind of the focus and what you had earlier and turn it into a comfortable yeah I mean at that point you’re fighting human nature a lot of times I think you see it on the offensive end I mean you like ball was really moving we

Were passing up wide open shots and then we were trying to drive into a crowd and make we were trying to make another play for somebody but we should have just taken the shot at times kept it a little bit more simple uh we had done a good

Job of creating those opportunities so we just should have taken them um you know then that led to some runouts some you know turnovers and some run outs that you know we weren’t getting back so just overall this season you know two-thirds of the way through it you

Mentioned you know this had a potential be a trap game just just overall how have you felt this team handling its its business I mean for the most part it’s been great you know like we’ve bounced back from tough losses very very well um you know

We’ve had a few slip ups for sure like everybody does but it’s not been like a a pattern of it you know um I think you know guys are locked in coming out of halftime guys you know I think there’s like a a course correct that we we we

Have are seemingly able to do pretty well I think a lot of that’s down to our leadership and our maturity um and and also like aunt and cat like getting you know getting busy you know I think I really really appreciate an approach their approach has been all business

Recently you know with um you you talked about what an honor the All-Star game was for for you and the organization as a whole just what will it mean for you to to coach C and and yeah I think I mean I was thinking about this this

Afternoon um and I had you know had done it um some media around that question and uh it’s pretty special really I mean if you go back it was basically right before the All-Star Game several years ago when I got this job three seasons I think it

Was or whatever two and a half I have no idea now but um and you know cat was so so gracious and like welcoming me um Anthony was just like you know kind of brighte rookie uh and you know the mission was to to help you know restore

The the team around cat you know make him the center point um and and then you know bring Anthony along and you know to to be here a couple years later it’s it’s it’s such a credit and a tribute to them and their willingness to be coached

And you know learn and grow and adapt and all the things we’ve been through in that time so you know it’s going to be cool really cool Chris um you guys you haven’t really had a lull at any stretch of the Season extended losing streak or anything like that but does this recent

Last few weeks feel like you’re playing as kind of like you were at the beginning of the Season or as well as you have been I think so if you know it feels like we have that kind of that Swagger back that we had before Christmas you know or up to that point

In time um uh you know it’s all again it’s defensive lead but we now have like offensive kind of purpose and everyone’s really kind of contributing there so it does feel like we found a whole another gear um but you know we just got to maintain it after the break now I mean

There’s a you know a bunch of games I think we have seven back to backs and we do we do have a bunch of games at home out of the break and we just got we can’t come in happy and fat you know we got to make sure that we stay

Hungry and then uh is that Carl had the two big blocks in in this game but kind of throughout the season it seems like he’s he’s had that wallup sort of game at at The Rim I mean we talked so much about Rudy and what he does there but

Carl’s pretty important addition to the rim protection as no doubt about it and um you know we we’ve been preaching from the beginning like you got to do the things that big teams do that’s be big where it matters most and that’s at The Rim um

And uh when we are really really good cat is really good on defense you know and we we challenged him in January said we got you got to get back to playing defense at the level you were up until Christmas time um and he’s responded he

Really really has and whether it be at The Rim or in actions or in rotations um he’s it’s been key it’s like this doesn’t work if cat doesn’t bring that defensive component it just doesn’t you know so question you enter the enter the break with best record in the west any sort of

Message you tell the guys is they kind of all go to their own spots for a couple days to let them relax but also make sure they keep focused on kind of the mission here yeah I mean we just uh I want them to enjoy it wanted them to

Uh to recognize uh you know what we’ve done so far and and why we’ve been successful and I want them to come back laser focus you know um and we just we talked about you know how important seven games at home coming out of the

Break it sets up nicely for us we have to take advantage of that and um you know this going to be a heck of a push coming up here we play a bunch of teams that are right there with us you know and um they’re going to be swing games [Applause] so

Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch after the win over Portland.