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Chris Hine: Anthony Edwards, Chris Finch and the 'funniest tug-of-war' that defines their relationship

Chris Hine, Star Tribune on

Published in Basketball

MINNEAPOLIS — Whenever Anthony Edwards does something on the court, he shows emotion. Specifically, he shows emotion in the immediate aftermath of the event occurring.

Often he has trouble controlling his reaction in that three-to-five seconds afterward. That’s one reason why Edwards got so many technical fouls last season; he knew the proper way to react when he felt he got fouled, he just wouldn’t or couldn’t do it (he has been much better at that this season).

When he hits a big shot, or has a big dunk, he emotes to anybody or anything nearby. Late in the team’s victory over the Clippers on Thursday, that person was coach Chris Finch, who was a few feet away as Edwards hit a clinching 3 over two defenders with under a minute left.

We often hear Edwards talk about how Finch can be hard on Edwards, that he’s demanding of him. And whenever Edwards does, it’s always away from the heat of that exchange with Finch in a practice, game or film session, and Edwards does nothing but praise Finch. The thing is, those initial moments are rarely caught on camera the way it was Thursday, when Edwards appeared to have a few words for Finch.

Edwards said afterward, with a smile on his face, that Finch had wanted him to pass the ball after shooting a tough midrange shot earlier (Finch said he didn’t say that). But fans are dissecting the interaction to say there might be an issue between Finch and Edwards. Before you come to that conclusion, allow for some context.

When talking to people, including assistant coach Chris Hines (who works closely with Edwards), Mike Conley and Naz Reid for a book I wrote on Edwards, I got the sense that Finch and Edwards have more heated moments with each other than fans typically see. Here was a quote from Conley in the book “Ant.”

“They go at it. Honestly, they do. They go at it,” Conley said. “They have days where they’re getting ready to fight, and then after the game they hug each other. Finchy apologizes, or just says, ‘Man, I just got caught up.’ Ant’s the same way: ‘Like, man, you’re right. I got caught up too.’ ”

Hines recounted a game in which Edwards got on a hot streak taking a bunch of bad shots, with Finch making sure Edwards heard about his terrible shot selection. After another make, Hines said Edwards turned around, patted Finch on the butt and kept moving.

 

“I’m in the middle, like always the string holding it together,” Hines said. “Or I’m pushing away like y’all need to back up, give each other space. ‘Let me handle that, Finchy, I got him.’ I get to see this tug-of-war, and it’s the funniest tug-of-war that I’ve ever seen.”

Conley also said he would have to calm Edwards down in film sessions when Finch gets hard on him. He knows to do that when Edwards’ leg starts shaking when Finch begins critiquing Edwards’ play.

“I’ll be like, ‘Hey, chill. You need this. This is good. Just let it happen,’ ” Conley said. “He’ll be quiet. and let coach continue to do what he does.”

So my mind went to these stories and these quotes after Edwards’ reaction. When you factor in that Edwards can’t always control how he reacts in the first few seconds after these moments, it makes sense that after all had calmed down, and Edwards did interviews both with Amazon Prime postgame and reporters on the scene, he was talking about how great his relationship is with Finch.

“Me and my coach got the best relationship ever,” Edwards told reporters. “He be right most of the time, 98 percent of the time, he be right. He told me to pass the ball tonight, and I should have passed it, but I shot it instead and it went in. The basketball gods was on my side tonight.”

Edwards and Finch have been here previously; this time it was just on camera for everyone to see.


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