SI

Draymond Green Had Comical Line About Timberwolves Coach Leaving Game With Injury

The Minnesota Timberwolves coach suffered a ruptured patellar tendon.

Kyle Koster

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
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The good news for Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch is that his team, behind another incredible performance from Anthony Edwards, completed a sweep against the Phoneix Suns late Sunday night. The bad news came in the form of a careening Mike Conley careening into him as Minnesota attempted to preserve a lead with under two minutes to play.

Finch remained on the ground after the collision for several minutes and the entire Wolves roster and support staff made a circle around him to block any intrusive camera shots of the 54-year-old in clear pain. Eventually he was able to get upright and helped to the locker room, where he watched his team secure the franchise's first playoff series win in 19 years.

ESPN's Baxter Holmes reported overnight that Finch had ruptured the patellar tendon in his right knee, which is obviously a serious injury that will keep him from full mobility for a significant time.

Draymond Green, Monday morning quarterbacking the situation after being eliminated, would have liked to see the coach grit it out on the sidelines for the final 100 seconds of gameplay instead of getting immediate medical attention. But he does wish him well.

Alright. An interesting person to plead for someone to be out there and available when his team needs him. Perhaps it was Green the podcaster and not Green the player who has disqualified himself from action with impressive frequency. The lines tend to blur.

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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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