- NBA. Minnesota head coach Chris Finch suffers a torn kneecap... after colliding with his player Mike Conley!
- NBA. Timberwolves sweep Suns, win first playoff series since 2004
Like most of us, Draymond Green was watching Game 4 of the Minnesota Timberwolves - Phoenix Suns playoff series from his couch -- but his reaction to an unfortunate injury late in the contest seemed to turn the internet against him one more time.
When Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch collided with point guard Mike Conley in the fourth quarter, the NBA world held its collective breath in hopes that Finch had avoided a serious injury to his left knee. Coaching injuries are exceedingly rare in the NBA, but Green had a take on the sequence that went against the grain.
Draymond: Finch should have stayed in the game!
Green wished Finch well following the injury -- reported to be a torn patellar tendon that could take up to a year to heal properly -- but remarked controversially that he should have stayed in the game, coaching from the sideline, instead of causing a lengthy delay late in the fourth quarter of an eventual Timberwolves win.
Minnesota completed a four-game sweep of the Suns with a 122-116 win in Phoenix, the Wolves' first playoff series win in two decades. Green and his Golden State Warriors missed the playoffs this season after falling to the Sacramento Kings in the Play-In Tournament, and the four-time NBA champion's future with the aging Warriors is up in the air following a disappointing 46-36 campaign.
Many users on X (formerly Twitter) mocked Green for his stance on Finch's injury, with one reminding Green of his ejection four minutes into a game against the Orlando Magic last month.
Some refused to believe at first that it was Green's verified X account posting the take on Finch and instead thought it was a bot or a parody account chiming in. Draymond has been active on social media during the NBA playoffs, and he often posts links to his podcast on X.
Other reactions to Finch's injury were significantly more sympathetic. Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault knows his team could face Minnesota in a potential Western Conference Finals series, but he took time Monday to rue the sequence of events at Footprint Center, with Finch's timeline for a return to the sideline uncertain as of yet.