INDIANAPOLIS — Before Sunday's game, coach Chris Finch was discussing the energy level of his team and said one thing he knows about being tired is the more he talks about it, the more tired he is.
Tired a taboo word for Timberwolves
Coach Chris Finch said he's done talking about how tired his team is headed into the All-Star break.
February 14, 2022 at 1:58AM
So after the Timberwolves beat the Pacers 129-120 on Sunday, Finch didn't want to talk about his team's fatigue anymore.
"I'm done talking about being tired," Finch said. "I'll talk about the performance."
The Wolves snapped their two-game losing streak thanks to a 37-point performance from Anthony Edwards that lifted the sails of his teammates. Finch said the key to fighting through this stretch of the season before the All-Star break was being mentally tough enough to overcome whatever is bothering you.
"I'm sure there's a lot of guys out there that are tired and banged up right now," Finch said. "But they're winning games, playing their best and playing hard. Maybe we can try to reduce some of their minutes, some of their shifts. I think we'll do that, but we addressed it the other day."
Along those lines, the Wolves got through Sunday with Karl-Anthony Towns, who said he was physically and mentally tired after Friday's loss in Chicago, playing only 22 minutes. Jarred Vanderbilt, another player the Wolves have been trying to reduce the minutes load for, played 24.
Guard D'Angelo Russell said the fact the Wolves are in playoff contention has been his motivation to overcome fatigue when he feels it.
"It took me awhile to be in a position like this throughout my career to where we're playing for something," Russell said. "So that's enough motivation and that alone gives you enough motivation to want to come out every night and put on a show."
Starting something
In an attempt to start a new home game day tradition, Russell made 250 tickets available to fans for Tuesday and Wednesday's home games against Charlotte and Toronto with a condition — that the fans with those tickets stand until the Wolves score their first bucket.
After a recent home win against Detroit, Russell commented that the Wolves' home crowds tend to be quiet and could use a jolt. Russell suggested the standing gimmick on social media as a way to remedy that.
After the Wolves announced the tickets before Sunday's game, they were taken in a matter of minutes, the team's public relations staff said.
Etc.
- Finch said he was rooting for the Bengals in the Super Bowl. When asked why, Finch alluded to liking Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. "Something about that guy seems like a winner. I like to root for winners."
- After entering Chicago's game with six players as questionable on the injury report, the Wolves entered Sunday's game with just one — Edwards. Naz Reid, Taurean Prince, Josh Okogie, Russell and Patrick Beverley, were all off the injury report.
The Timberwolves turned on their defense and turned a deficit into a comfortable winning margin over the course of about five crucial minutes.
