Chris Finch & Steve Kerr Aren’t Happy With Playoff’s Physicality

Both Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch and Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr believe they’re getting the short end of the stick when it comes to officiating.

Finch complained to reporters at practice about the Warriors’ physicality with Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert.

“On defensive rebounding, [the Warriors] do a lot of fouling, holding, shoving, pushing and tackling Rudy,” Finch said. “That’s clear. We sent a bunch of those clips in to the league.”

In response, Kerr told reporters that “he didn’t see a foul” on any of the plays Finch referenced. Additionally, Kerr detailed problems around the physicality the Timberwolves use when guarding star Stephen Curry.

“It was just like Houston all over again. They were bear-hugging Steph [Curry], and they could have called six fouls,” Kerr said. “But the league has established the physicality in the playoffs.”

Kerr and Finch might be complaining about physicality, but the game is being called on both sides. Teams to play as physically as possible if referees are allowing leeway.

Kerr acknowledged the difficulty that referees have when calling a game.

“It’s a really hard thing to control,” Kerr said. “Because everybody’s playing so hard and they know what the other team is running.”

Game two of the Warriors and Timberwolves series is on Thursday night. The Warriors won game one 99-88.

The Warriors will be without Curry for game two.