Finch addressed Minnesota's first-round playoff situation, and expressed confidence in his team's ability to get the job done.
The Minnesota Timberwolves closed out the regular season Sunday night with a 132-126 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Now, with the regular season capped off, everyone's attention turns to the NBA Playoffs.
Minnesota is officially moving on to the first round in the Western Conference Playoffs, and they're getting the Denver Nuggets in the three versus six matchup. Their old rivals who they've played in two of the last three postseasons are looking dangerous, and they're going to be a difficult foe to take down.
How this situation came to be is an interesting development. The Nuggets were all set to earn the fourth seed and be matched up with the Houston Rockets in round one. That is, until San Antonio rested Victor Wembanyama inexplicably, leading to the Nuggets grabbing the win even while resting players of their own.
That moved Denver up to the third seed, locking them in to San Antonio's side of the bracket and ensuring that the Thunder don't face any of the Spurs, Nuggets or Timberwolves until the conference finals. It also switched Minnesota's first-round opponent from a beatable Lakers team to the much more dangerous Nuggets.
Mar 1, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun (0) defends on Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels (3) in the first quarter at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn ImagesFinch Isn't Blinking
All things considered, this is truly a tough break for the Wolves. They're going to have an absolute gauntlet to get through if they're to make a deep run in the playoffs this year. But for Chris Finch, there's not a lot of worry around the situation.
"It was never gonna be up to us, we'll go anywhere to play anybody," Finch said. "We're super comfortable playing that team. And they're playing really well, some of the best basketball in the league, so we've got our hands full. But we'll dig into them this week, and be ready to go."
That's the kind of response you want from your coach heading into the playoffs. There's no fear in it, but there's also no arrogance, even if it might sound like it at first. Finch acknowledged Denver's been rolling, and he's right. The Nuggets have been one of the hottest teams in the league down the stretch.
But Finch isn't treating it like a problem. He's treating it like a assignment. Go dig in, get ready, and show up. The Wolves believe in themselves because they know this opponent better than maybe anyone.
Edwards' Health Is the Real Question
Minnesota's comfort level against Denver is real. They are extremely familiar with what it looks like to face the Nuggets in a postseason setting. They've seen Nikola Jokic do unbelievable things in April and May with everything on the line. Frankly, this is nothing new.
What nobody knows yet is what Anthony Edwards is going to look like when the playoffs tip off. He's been dealing with right knee inflammation late in the season, and that's worth monitoring closely heading into the week.
Minnesota can talk all day about being comfortable against Denver. With a healthy Ant, they absolutely should be. But without him, it's a different conversation entirely.
Either way, we're headed toward what should be another classic playoff matchup in what's been easily one of the best basketball rivalries of this decade so far. Timberwolves fans and Nuggets fans have to both be equal parts excited and nervous for what's about to happen in the next two weeks.