In an ironic reversal of the laws of nature, the Timberwolves fell to the Bucks. Now their head coach, Chris Finch, knows what went wrong tactically. But how will the locker room bounce back? Well, the T-Wolves players seem to have that one covered, according to Donte DiVincenzo.
Now, losses are a part of the game, everyone knows that. But what will sting most is the fact that the T-Wolves were competitive for the first three-quarters of the game. The fourth? Not so much. Donte and Co. gave up 40 points to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, who ran away with it in the final quarter. The Timberwolves themselves only put up 13. But here’s why Donte DiVincenzo thinks this won’t affect the T-Wolves’ confidence heading into their next game.
“Players are connected. This locker room is connected. Everybody in here, from the oldest guy to the youngest guy, everybody’s talking to each other, everybody’s locking, and there’s nobody hanging their head individually…We have to acknowledge what happened, but don’t let the world blow up. And just because of this, we have to respond on Thursday,” said Donte.
And from the sound of it, Donte DiVincenzo and the rest of the locker room seem to be spurred on by this loss. The fact that young players like Anthony Edwards and veterans like Rudy Gobert get along well is a good sign for the Minnesota Timberwolves. After all, a fractured locker room doesn’t usually lead to winning NBA championships. But a locker room that plays for each other? Now, that’s what brings home the rings.
Now, this is good news for Chris Finch on the man management front. But as we alluded to earlier, it was his tactics that needed a little workshopping. And during the post-game press conference, he revealed what went wrong during the Bucks game. Specifically, as it pertains to Rudy Gobert and his inclusion in tonight’s game.
Chris Finch talks about the Rudy Gobert problem the Minnesota Timberwolves faced
Rudy Gobert did not have the best showing tonight. He did grab the most boards in his team. However, the rest of his output left a lot to be desired. In recent games, he’d been more offensively involved with 20-point showings against the Nets and the Sixers. But none of that was on display tonight. He only mustered a meager 6 points against the Bucks. And his showing on the other end wasn’t stellar either with 1 steal, no blocks, and 4 fouls.
But Chris Finch revealed what went wrong for the 4x DPOY tonight. “I thought we missed him early in the game a bunch of times. And, you know, on some rolls and some dives. You know, a lot of what he has been able to do also offensively has been, really getting busy on the glass. You know?” said Finch.
Chris is right about this. Rudy wasn’t able to establish his dominance over the Bucks’ backboard tonight. He had only 2 offensive rebounds tonight. Missing such a crucial part of his game early on meant that even as the game progressed, Rudy was never truly able to get into the game. And like Chris said, things simply snowballed from there as the Bucks gained more confidence. By the fourth quarter, it was too late for the T-Wolves, and the Bucks won the game easily despite how close it was.
The Minnesota Timberwolves would love to prevent this from happening again. Given how connected Donte claims their locker room is, we have no doubts they’ll be able to do it. But the T-Wolves will need to do it quickly. After all, the postseason is almost here!
The post Donte DiVincenzo Clears Stance on Locker Room Connection With Anthony Edwards & Co as Major Rudy Gobert Mistake Emerges appeared first on EssentiallySports.
