"You're The Leader Of The Team, You Have To Set The Tone" - Chris Finch Did Not Hold Back While Ripping Into Anthony Edwards For His Awful Game 1 Performance

Jesse D. Garrabrant. Getty Images.

One of the best parts of Anthony Edwards is his supreme confidence. It doesn't matter the situation, Ant isn't afraid to talk his shit, and what makes him special is that more often than not, he backs it up.

The problem when you talk as much as Ant does and you enjoy the publicity and fame that comes with it, you better make damn sure when it comes time to play and get the job done, that you come through. Sometimes though, it can backfire.

Remember this?

Well, Ant finally had his opportunity to face these Warriors and Draymond Green in the playoffs, and let's just say things didn't go great. 

It was a brutal night in every sense of the word. Just 1 point at the half while missing all 8 of his shots, no energy, just a whole lot of bricks and piss poor effort. As you can imagine, his head coach wasn't thrilled

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm having a hard time finding the lie. To me, this is just great coaching. Holding your star player accountable this time of year is exactly what a good coach should be doing. Some may see this as a beef between the two, but not me. This tells me Finch and Ant have a great relationship and there's real trust there. There's no bullshit in that answer, it's the brutal honest truth. The best coaches in the NBA understand how to be brutally honest, but respectful. That's how I would describe Chris Finch in that clip. He, like the rest of us, knows his superstar's performance was nowhere near acceptable. If you want all the glory when things go your way, you have to live up to your end of the bargain at all times, and in Game 1 that was not the case with Ant's performance.

Advertisement

It's also another great reminder of how stupid the media and the narrative can be with Ant. He's an INCREDIBLE player with all the potential in the world. He's going to be a major force for years to come. He's also not Michael Jordan. Remember that? Perhaps all that stuff should die down until he actually accomplishes something. Sorry if that's too crazy of an idea. It's not exactly the best look if your coaching is openly admitting that you weren't ready to go for a playoff game, especially once Steph went out. 

The good news is that Ant was accountable for his stinker, which is exactly what I would want to see as a Wolves fan. 

My guess is this won't be an issue in Game 2, especially now that the Wolves dropped the opener and their season is in the balance. This is the spot they need their franchise player to be a franchise player, and if Ant truly is the player he's talked up to be, he'll find a way to deliver.