The Official Chris Finch Thread

[life_saver]

Probably true in the post-KG era

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[Klomp]

While I am not calling for his head, I think it's fair to wonder if he's the coach that can take us to the next level. Just like there are players who can only take a franchise so far before they plateau, I think it's the same for coaches.

That being said, he's been the best coach we've had outside of Flip, so I wouldn't say he's on a tight leash. It's just a cautionary tale as we try to make that leap over the next 3-5 years.

[TimberKat]

If you going to fire Finch, now is the time. Snyder is heading to ATL. Unless you want McMillan instead, who I think is a good coach but not sure what happen in ATL this year. Maybe just not seeing eye to eye with Young?

[minimus]

If you going to fire Finch, now is the time. Snyder is heading to ATL. Unless you want McMillan instead, who I think is a good coach but not sure what happen in ATL this year. Maybe just not seeing eye to eye with Young?

Well, I see why Finch has been critized here. But. Let's think about this season in retrospective:

1) Last season we overachieved, but DLo, Beasley, Vando and Nowell were complete non factor in playoffs. We started last season badly, but were playing good during second half of the season. That was mainly five-out offense, a lot of horns actions, pistol/chicago actions that were used Towns versatility in offense. That was a good example of motion offense at his best.

2) Starting this year Ant, Gobert and Towns all three were in a bad physical shape. Towns was missing open 3s, but was good at involving Gobert. Then Towns went down with injury. Additionally our three most reliable passers were down with injuries McLaughlin, Anderson. Plus best C&S shooter Prince was injured. At that point the only passers in our team were Edwards and DLo. Finch had to transform whole offense to use Gobert strengths as screener, Edwards ISO scoring and DLo shooting. You can see this from multiple split actions, DHOs etc. DLo went absolutely nuclear for two months, Edwards made a big leap as defender, offense initiator.







3) Coming Conley trade. You can see immediately how Conley was able to diversify offensive flow, for instance empty side pnrs was immediately stolen from UTA playbook. Three quarters against DAL and three quarters against WAS were the best MIN basketball in terms of ball movement, open corner 3s, cuts etc. So Conley brings here pure talent of facilitator, but we lose DLo scoring.

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Let's sum up:

We have changed THREE different team offense in ONE year.

First scheme was pure motion offense we ran last year: a lot of ball movement, free flow, less pick-n-rolls, a lot of two PGs lineups with DLo-JMac-Beverley. Motion offense was advertised as visit card of Finch. We overachieved with this scheme.

Second scheme was built around Gobert-Anderson-DLo-Edwards: some pick-n-rolls, a lot of DHOs. The goal here was to use Gobert as screener, and DLo as offball scorer. Move away from long possessions when DLo had to play as pick-n-roll creator. Results were mixed, but we maximized DLo value, we are still in playoff picture, Edwards and MCD have shown big progress.

Third scheme will be built around Gobert-Edwards-Towns, with Conley as role player. I eager to see if we can implement everything what we have learned so far. Quite a challenge.

Finch has his flaws, but I am not sure if there is another HC in NBA who have been through similar situation this season and shown good degree of flexibility and creativity. I root for him.

P.S. If I have enough time I will update this post later with some videos. I am writing on my phone now.

[minimus]

Updated

[Colbinii]

If you going to fire Finch, now is the time. Snyder is heading to ATL. Unless you want McMillan instead, who I think is a good coach but not sure what happen in ATL this year. Maybe just not seeing eye to eye with Young?

Nobody sees eye-to-eye with Trae Young.

[wolves_89]

I don't see Finch going anywhere in the near future. However, if he can't fix the Wolves massive problems with inconsistency and playing down to poor teams, this will very likely be a real discussion at some point next season.

[Neeva]

I’d rather have Snyder than Finch for sure.

[minimus]

I’d rather have Snyder than Finch for sure.

I am sure if you were on UTA forum you would prefer Finch over Snyder

[fattymcgee]

If you going to fire Finch, now is the time. Snyder is heading to ATL. Unless you want McMillan instead, who I think is a good coach but not sure what happen in ATL this year. Maybe just not seeing eye to eye with Young?

Well, I see why Finch has been critized here. But. Let's think about this season in retrospective:

1) Last season we overachieved, but DLo, Beasley, Vando and Nowell were complete non factor in playoffs. We started last season badly, but were playing good during second half of the season. That was mainly five-out offense, a lot of horns actions, pistol/chicago actions that were used Towns versatility in offense. That was a good example of motion offense at his best.

2) Starting this year Ant, Gobert and Towns all three were in a bad physical shape. Towns was missing open 3s, but was good at involving Gobert. Then Towns went down with injury. Additionally our three most reliable passers were down with injuries McLaughlin, Anderson. Plus best C&S shooter Prince was injured. At that point the only passers in our team were Edwards and DLo. Finch had to transform whole offense to use Gobert strengths as screener, Edwards ISO scoring and DLo shooting. You can see this from multiple split actions, DHOs etc. DLo went absolutely nuclear for two months, Edwards made a big leap as defender, offense initiator.
post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0e7e7f60-47ad-4b3f-9598-db10b04eeca4_600x338.gif[/img]

3) Coming Conley trade. You can see immediately how Conley was able to diversify offensive flow, for instance empty side pnrs was immediately stolen from UTA playbook. Three quarters against DAL and three quarters against WAS were the best MIN basketball in terms of ball movement, open corner 3s, cuts etc. So Conley brings here pure talent of facilitator, but we lose DLo scoring.

Let's sum up:

We have changed THREE different team offense in ONE year.

First scheme was pure motion offense we ran last year: a lot of ball movement, free flow, less pick-n-rolls, a lot of two PGs lineups with DLo-JMac-Beverley. Motion offense was advertised as visit card of Finch. We overachieved with this scheme.

Second scheme was built around Gobert-Anderson-DLo-Edwards: some pick-n-rolls, a lot of DHOs. The goal here was to use Gobert as screener, and DLo as offball scorer. Move away from long possessions when DLo had to play as pick-n-roll creator. Results were mixed, but we maximized DLo value, we are still in playoff picture, Edwards and MCD have shown big progress.

Third scheme will be built around Gobert-Edwards-Towns, with Conley as role player. I eager to see if we can implement everything what we have learned so far. Quite a challenge.

Finch has his flaws, but I am not sure if there is another HC in NBA who have been through similar situation this season and shown good degree of flexibility and creativity. I root for him.

P.S. If I have enough time I will update this post later with some videos. I am writing on my phone now.

All good point, but you're also missing one major change. Our best player from last year, KAT (All-NBA, All-star) has missed 2/3 of the games this year. If he missed that many games last year we would've had half as many wins and wouldn't have been anywhere near the playoffs.

[Klomp]

All good point, but you're also missing one major change. Our best player from last year, KAT (All-NBA, All-star) has missed 2/3 of the games this year. If he missed that many games last year we would've had half as many wins and wouldn't have been anywhere near the playoffs.

Record without Karl-Anthony Towns, 2018-22 seasons: 17-47 (.265); 107-129 with (.453)
Record without Karl-Anthony Towns, 2022-23 season: 21-19 (.525); 10-11 with (.476)

[Battletrigger]

We will see at the end of the season. Most people are acting like we are going to play the PO for sure, but we are only 1.5 games from the 11 seed.

[fattymcgee]

All good point, but you're also missing one major change. Our best player from last year, KAT (All-NBA, All-star) has missed 2/3 of the games this year. If he missed that many games last year we would've had half as many wins and wouldn't have been anywhere near the playoffs.

Record without Karl-Anthony Towns, 2018-22 seasons: 17-47 (.265); 107-129 with (.453)
Record without Karl-Anthony Towns, 2022-23 season: 21-19 (.525); 10-11 with (.476)

Yup, there was a huge difference from 2018-2022.
This year everyone was still trying to get used to two new starters and a heavy minutes rotation player so still didn't have a chance to gel before KAT went down.

[Nick K]

If you going to fire Finch, now is the time. Snyder is heading to ATL. Unless you want McMillan instead, who I think is a good coach but not sure what happen in ATL this year. Maybe just not seeing eye to eye with Young?

Well, I see why Finch has been critized here. But. Let's think about this season in retrospective:

1) Last season we overachieved, but DLo, Beasley, Vando and Nowell were complete non factor in playoffs. We started last season badly, but were playing good during second half of the season. That was mainly five-out offense, a lot of horns actions, pistol/chicago actions that were used Towns versatility in offense. That was a good example of motion offense at his best.

2) Starting this year Ant, Gobert and Towns all three were in a bad physical shape. Towns was missing open 3s, but was good at involving Gobert. Then Towns went down with injury. Additionally our three most reliable passers were down with injuries McLaughlin, Anderson. Plus best C&S shooter Prince was injured. At that point the only passers in our team were Edwards and DLo. Finch had to transform whole offense to use Gobert strengths as screener, Edwards ISO scoring and DLo shooting. You can see this from multiple split actions, DHOs etc. DLo went absolutely nuclear for two months, Edwards made a big leap as defender, offense initiator.







3) Coming Conley trade. You can see immediately how Conley was able to diversify offensive flow, for instance empty side pnrs was immediately stolen from UTA playbook. Three quarters against DAL and three quarters against WAS were the best MIN basketball in terms of ball movement, open corner 3s, cuts etc. So Conley brings here pure talent of facilitator, but we lose DLo scoring.

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Let's sum up:

We have changed THREE different team offense in ONE year.

First scheme was pure motion offense we ran last year: a lot of ball movement, free flow, less pick-n-rolls, a lot of two PGs lineups with DLo-JMac-Beverley. Motion offense was advertised as visit card of Finch. We overachieved with this scheme.

Second scheme was built around Gobert-Anderson-DLo-Edwards: some pick-n-rolls, a lot of DHOs. The goal here was to use Gobert as screener, and DLo as offball scorer. Move away from long possessions when DLo had to play as pick-n-roll creator. Results were mixed, but we maximized DLo value, we are still in playoff picture, Edwards and MCD have shown big progress.

Third scheme will be built around Gobert-Edwards-Towns, with Conley as role player. I eager to see if we can implement everything what we have learned so far. Quite a challenge.

Finch has his flaws, but I am not sure if there is another HC in NBA who have been through similar situation this season and shown good degree of flexibility and creativity. I root for him.

P.S. If I have enough time I will update this post later with some videos. I am writing on my phone now.

Really good post minimus.

Why are we talking about firing Finch? I guess we don't have much to talk about.

My only Finch criticism is he's slow to make moves. Now that can be a strength too. Sometimes he gets a little stubborn going with guys that are struggling. Like Nowell e.g. The big thing is he will change things up when needed.

I love this entire staff. Believe me, we're in good hands.

[Nick K]

We will see at the end of the season. Most people are acting like we are going to play the PO for sure, but we are only 1.5 games from the 11 seed.

I'll take my chances and put my money on us to clearly make the playoffs. 4-6 seed. Might be better.

Kat coming back will make us a very tough team to beat. The maturity we have with Kat, Rudy, and MC is gold. Then add the youth of Ant and McD. Think about how good those 5 guys are? All I can say is FAAAAAHK! In awe and reverence. Veteran teams win. Young teams lose.

Dlo was addition by subtraction. After all, we could have lost Dlo and cap space for nothing so we had to move him. Him being off the team had to be for our ultimate success.

I think we finally have the right chemistry. I'm so happy we have a guy like Mike Conley. Rudy is coming into his own and will only get better.

Getting Kat back after watching from the sidelines, he said he gained invaluable insight into how he can fit in best coming back.

To get NAW and 3 2nd round picks back makes the Gobert trade even better.

I was at the first game played and don't miss many games ever. Obviously, I've seen a lot of bad basketball. Too much for about any human to endure. It's time. We're closer than people think.

Call me crazy but the stars are coming aligned that great things could happen. Keep the faith.

[TimberKat]

Well, I see why Finch has been critized here. But. Let's think about this season in retrospect...

@minimus great post with a lot of good stuff and insight. Agree Dallas game was our best offense this year so far. The season would had feel so much better had we beat the Wizards. It still bothers me that we don't have a couple pet plays to get things moving when everyone starts to standing around or getting tired. Hopefully we put it all together against Charlotte tomorrow.

[Battletrigger]

We will see at the end of the season. Most people are acting like we are going to play the PO for sure, but we are only 1.5 games from the 11 seed.

I'll take my chances and put my money on us to clearly make the playoffs. 4-6 seed. Might be better.

Kat coming back will make us a very tough team to beat. The maturity we have with Kat, Rudy, and MC is gold. Then add the youth of Ant and McD. Think about how good those 5 guys are? All I can say is FAAAAAHK! In awe and reverence. Veteran teams win. Young teams lose.

Dlo was addition by subtraction. After all, we could have lost Dlo and cap space for nothing so we had to move him. Him being off the team had to be for our ultimate success.

I think we finally have the right chemistry. I'm so happy we have a guy like Mike Conley. Rudy is coming into his own and will only get better.

Getting Kat back after watching from the sidelines, he said he gained invaluable insight into how he can fit in best coming back.

To get NAW and 3 2nd round picks back makes the Gobert trade even better.

I was at the first game played and don't miss many games ever. Obviously, I've seen a lot of bad basketball. Too much for about any human to endure. It's time. We're closer than people think.

Call me crazy but the stars are coming aligned that great things could happen. Keep the faith.

And this is the definition of a very optimistic person

[Baseline81]

And this is the definition of a very optimistic person

I would say Klomp-esque.

[Nick K]

We will see at the end of the season. Most people are acting like we are going to play the PO for sure, but we are only 1.5 games from the 11 seed.

I'll take my chances and put my money on us to clearly make the playoffs. 4-6 seed. Might be better.

Kat coming back will make us a very tough team to beat. The maturity we have with Kat, Rudy, and MC is gold. Then add the youth of Ant and McD. Think about how good those 5 guys are? All I can say is FAAAAAHK! In awe and reverence. Veteran teams win. Young teams lose.

Dlo was addition by subtraction. After all, we could have lost Dlo and cap space for nothing so we had to move him. Him being off the team had to be for our ultimate success.

I think we finally have the right chemistry. I'm so happy we have a guy like Mike Conley. Rudy is coming into his own and will only get better.

Getting Kat back after watching from the sidelines, he said he gained invaluable insight into how he can fit in best coming back.

To get NAW and 3 2nd round picks back makes the Gobert trade even better.

I was at the first game played and don't miss many games ever. Obviously, I've seen a lot of bad basketball. Too much for about any human to endure. It's time. We're closer than people think.

Call me crazy but the stars are coming aligned that great things could happen. Keep the faith.

And this is the definition of a very optimistic person

Thank You. But why not be optimistic?

[Baseline81]

Thank You. But why not be optimistic?

Because some of us are rational beings.