Mike Conley has opened up about his nasty late-game collision with his head coach, Chris Finch.
Finch suffered a ruptured patella tendon after colliding with Conley, who had been forced out of bounds by Devin Booker.
“He didn’t want to see me at first, I walked in and he started to run away,” Conely said with a smile. “Nah, he tried to shoo me away a little bit.
Hear from Mike Conley after the series-clinching win over the Suns 🔊#WolvesBack | #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/lX7gQv1nRR
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“I didn’t see him. At first, I was just trying to push the ball up the floor and Book kinda hip-checked me out of bounds. And when I saw him (Finch), it was too late. I was trying to grab him to not let him hit his head or something. I think his foot got stuck, so it was just bad timing.
“I told him to sit his ass down, he shouldn’t be standing up like that… he’s in the way. Prayers up for him, I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
Conley’s teasing of his coach highlights their close relationship, but it’s a serious injury for Finch, who had to be helped off the court when the incident occurred with 1:41 left in the game.
Finch left the arena on a cart and assistant coach Micah Nori took over for the rest of the game.
“I know it sounds corny, but it’s just next man up, even with the coaching staff,” Nori said after the game.
