Wolves' Finch irked by calls: 'Maybe we gotta start flopping' - ESPN

DENVER — In his Monday night pregame session with reporters, Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch reiterated his frustration with Jamal Murray's 16 free throws in the Denver Nuggets ' Game 1 win.

«Maybe we gotta start flopping, too,» Finch said.

In a roundabout answer, Finch shined a larger spotlight on what he believes is a league-wide trend of scorers exaggerating contact while driving into the lane and flailing away to draw a whistle.

Finch then compared it with his two leading scorers, Julius Randle and Anthony Edwards, who combined for nine free throws in the Game 1 loss. Denver shot 33. Minnesota shot 19.

«Julius is not a flopper,» Finch said. «Ant is not a flopper. They are physical drivers. They play through the first line of contact. A lot of times, that point of contact, if you were to spill away, you get a foul. But if you keep going, [referees] take a play-on mentality.»

Nuggets coach David Adelman bristled at the suggestion that Murray benefited from a soft whistle in the series opener, noting that four of Murray's 16 free throws were due to a flagrant foul on a 3-pointer and a technical foul.

«So it was 12 [free throws],» Adelman said. «And he got fouled. It's the playoffs. Everyone politics after games. But let's at least list out the 16 free throws and what actually happened. This wasn't a game where he was walking to the line. He was playing through a lot of physicality. It's what [the Timberwolves] do. They toe the line.»

Finch acknowledged that «some of them were fouls» but said, on rewatch, «They weren't all fouls.»

«The league is in a place right now where you draw contact, spill away, you get rewarded,» Finch said. «Guys who try to play through contact, that first level of contact and stay with