LOS ANGELES – For Timberwolves coach Chris Finch, Tuesday’s season opener, a 110-103 loss to the Lakers, felt like a repeat of the circumstances that led to a similar blow in last season’s opener against Toronto.

“It was my biggest fear from an offensive standpoint,” Finch said. “Exactly what we did last year.”

Finch praised the offense before the first game of the regular season, saying it was nothing like the style of play the Wolves showed in practice and their handful of preseason games.

As a result, Finch’s favorite description of when the ball stops moving reared its ugly head in his post-match comments.

“The ball got super sticky,” Finch said. “Then everyone went one-on-one.”

Guard Anthony Edwards attributed the Wolves’ loss to open looks that didn’t go in, but Finch saw a chicken-and-egg quality to the play’s views. Yes, the open looks didn’t fall, but Finch said that by the time those looks arrived, the Wolves had already spent too much time — the first half of the game — finding a groove.

“Really disconnected. Just like the flow, the rhythm and the goodwill that we built offensively during the preseason, we just didn’t have it,” Finch said. “When we were able to get an open look, they didn’t go in there for the most part. We didn’t generate enough good ones to get any rhythm.”

The Wolves shot 41% overall, 32% from three-point range. If there’s a difference between last season’s opener and this one, it’s that this season’s team is still developing chemistry, as Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo joined during the preseason following a trade with the Knicks.