ESPN’s Brian Windhorst’s Biggest Spurs-Timberwolves Takeaways | The Rich Eisen Show

0:00 What's your opinion of what we saw last night, Brian?

0:02 Man, I gotta tell you, I enjoyed that Spurs Minnesota game so much.

0:06 I really appreciated.

0:07 First off, I did not know two days ago the Ant was going to be ready to play.

0:12 How about that?

0:13 That, you know, we're in the information business.

0:15 We're supposed to be checking on these type of things.

0:18 That flew under our radar when it he popped

0:20 up on the injury report on Sunday as questionable.

0:25 We those of us in the information business actually thought that they

0:28 were doing it as subtrafuge like well he can't actually be

0:32 questionable like you would do that like just to get San Antonio in their heads

0:37 a little bit and then not only does he play but he has a very impactful game

0:42 but the mental discipline that it took to play this game for the Wolves and what

0:47 I mean by that is Victor blocked 12

0:50 shots that's amazing and if you watch the game.

0:56 I compared it I compared it this morning to trying to get to LaGuardia in a taxi

1:04 during the UN General Assembly.

1:06 There's you turn down this tax turns down this avenue.

1:09 Nope.

1:10 Turn down this side street.

1:12 Nope.

1:12 You just like looking for all these ways.

1:13 That's what was happening with them.

1:14 They they would drive here.

1:16 He's in the way.

1:16 They would come over this way.

1:17 Nope.

1:18 He's in the way.

1:18 Let's keep going up.

1:19 He blocks our shot.

1:20 Nope.

1:20 And they they never they never let down.

1:22 So he blocked 12 shots.

1:23 I went and looked this up.

1:24 Five of them they got back.

1:26 Okay.

1:27 They retained possessions.

1:30 Yes.

1:29 Um, twice they got fouls.

1:33 Mhm.

1:32 Once free throws, twice they got baskets.

1:35 So, and they they split the free throws and one of them one of them was a three.

1:38 There was a three-pointer actually in the fourth quarter.

1:40 Mike Connley hit it.

1:41 So, they generated afterama blocks six points and a game they won by two.

1:47 And that to me, even though there's a lot of other stuff going

1:50 on, that to me illustrates the approach that you

1:53 have to have against a player like this.

1:55 And and whether they can keep that mental edge when he

1:58 does it to you for two straight weeks, I don't know.

2:02 But I was so impressed with Minnesota.

2:04 So to complete your analogy, they did make it to LaGuardia.

2:08 They did.

2:08 Um and the countries blocking them

2:12 from the general assembly were all French speakaking

2:15 pretty much.

2:16 M beautifully done.

2:17 Yes.

2:18 Uh Tahiti

2:20 Tahiti was there.

2:20 Oh, I didn't ask you.

2:22 Guadaloop.

2:22 Look at him naming him.

2:23 Wow.

2:23 This is impressive.

2:24 Because during the

2:27 France because during the the um the Olympics,

2:29 yes,

2:29 they had all the French they had they

2:30 got all the police from all French-speaking nations and had them do traffic.

2:37 So like you could have been in Paris like

2:39 getting waved through the shams and you stopped and said,

2:42 "Hey, how do we get to the Eiffel Tower?" And they were like, "I do not know.

2:47 I am from uh Haiti."

2:50 Oh.

2:49 Or I am from Montreal.

2:51 There you go.

2:51 And uh but that's what they did.

2:53 So I I learned all of the French speaking countries.

2:56 Cycling back again to the Timberwolves um win.

3:00 Chris Finch, you you me you broke down all the blocks.

3:03 Right.

3:04 Chris Finch made it seem like not all the blocks were legitimate blocks.

3:08 That That's correct.

3:09 I mean, I I just love the way coaches work

3:11 refs from like straight out of the Phil Jackson playbook,

3:15 you know, just drop a little breadcrumb here or there from the podium.

3:18 Him just saying, "Yeah, some of some of them were were goends, you know." Yes.

3:22 And I'm Are they sending video to to

3:25 I don't know if

3:26 New York City now or what?

3:27 You know, I've never heard of a team sending a block to New York City.

3:30 Normally, it's like, you know, contact or or screens.

3:33 Well, this guy just blocked 12.

3:35 I mean, yeah, that was

3:37 he joined the stat that I have that I have written down here.

3:40 Uh, he joined Andrew Bayham and Hakee Elijah on Elijahan is

3:44 the only guys with a triple double involving blocks in a playoff.

3:47 So, it's interesting in the last round,

3:48 do you remember they played Denver and Finch I can't don't

3:51 hold me whether it was after game one or after game two.

3:55 Sure.

3:55 Um, he complained about officiating then what it was

3:58 on Jokic or on I don't remember what it was on.

4:01 Yeah.

4:01 and the next game there was mild improvement in the balance.

4:06 And so, you know, I'm not saying that it matters.

4:09 I'm just saying that Chris Finch has been around for a long time.

4:13 And I so I picked up on that last night.

4:15 I just say, "Yeah, you know,

4:16 just as a throwaway talking about the blocks and that some of them were goends."

4:19 I always think of this story.

4:21 Two years ago, um, the Pacers played the Knicks in the first round.

4:26 It was the year that the Pacers won in seven.

4:28 G in game seven, they beat them.

4:30 It was in the second round and Rick Carile basically I think stayed up all night

4:35 or very close to all night after game two and produced with his video staff like

4:43 I don't remember what it was 47 clips that they sent to the league office like

4:47 stayed up like working through the night

4:49 and to provide the league office with the clips

4:52 and they were down 02 in the series but you know

4:54 they came back and won and you know Rick Carile he's been

4:57 around a little while he knows how to work a playoff

4:59 series and Looks like Chris Finch might have some of that, too.

5:02 It happens.

5:02 Hey, you made it all the way to the end.

5:04 Thanks for that.

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