The Official Chris Finch Thread I

[TimberKat]

I just realized that only NINE current NBA head coaches have had their current position longer than Chris Finch has been in Minnesota, and only FOUR of them had completed a full season on the job when Finch was hired (Popovich, Spoelstra, Kerr, Malone).

I would also add that Chris Finch is MIN’s #2 in history. He’s #2 in wins, #2 in winning percentage, and #2 in playoff appearances.

RIP Flip

Are you saying Finch is coaching Wolves for too long ?.

I would say the events that set up Finch's great Wolves coaching record are: 1. Joe Smith picks penalty (talk about trade capitals); 2. Letting Chauncey Billups and Bobby Jackson go; 3. Kahn; 4. Butler situation (don't trade for him if he weren't going to stay)

[Klomp]

Well before the Wolves made a deal with Utah for Gobert that sacrificed a large chunk of their draft capital for the foreseeable future, Finch set a goal of making player development a part of his identity as a coach in Minnesota. He had been an NBA assistant for 10 years, so he was well aware of the reputation and the pitfalls in the market that the team faced.

He hired Joe Boylan to be the director of player development and an assistant coach on his staff, tasking him with helping to shape the program geared toward the team’s younger players getting acclimated to NBA life and then raising their games to meet the needs of the roster. Finch calls Boylan the key to their approach, which emphasizes group workouts and competition to keep players’ attention and intensity high in the summer months. Finch and Boylan worked together in New Orleans, and Finch connected with Boylan’s cerebral approach, personality and tireless commitment to the job.

“Guys tend to be drawn to people with quirky personalities,” Finch said. “They’re just different. They’re trying to figure out, ‘Who is this crazy guy?’ He is different in his approach.”
----
Finch sees a direct connection between the work Boylan and other assistants, including Chris Hines and Max Lefevre with the NBA staff and Jeff Newton in Iowa, and the progress the Wolves have seen from Edwards, McDaniels and Reid. All three’s games are more well-rounded, all three have addressed weaknesses and all three have become even bigger parts of the team’s future. That is to be expected for Edwards, the 2020 No. 1 overall pick and a face of the franchise. But to get McDaniels, who was taken 28th overall, to develop into a two-way stud and Reid, an undrafted tweener, to turn into a real weapon off the bench is invaluable.

“From the very first day, Finchy’s walking orders were, ‘I want there to be daily competition,'” Boylan said. “We reverse engineered on that principle.”

https://theathletic.com/4723792/2023/07/31/timberwolves-player-development-chris-finch-joe-boylan/

[Klomp]

Read on Twitter

[minimus]

Read on Twitter

At the beginning of last season, before he completely failed Nowell was really good at feeding Gobert. Below is an example:

https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2022/10/19/0022200010/579/13332721-8801-ec26-8084-4111c3c75032_1280x720.mp4

In four games against OKC, UTA, OKC, SAS he had four assist to Gobert. If Nowell could hit those open 3s, he and Gobert would have been one of the best NBA allyoop duos.

Read on Twitter

Nowell has that floater / mid range / crafty finishing at rim that benefits Gobert rim running game. Same with Conley. Now is up to Towns, Edwards, MCD to learn this.

43% of all Anderson shots are floaters, he was leading NBA at some point in last season in this category. Kyle hits 51% of these shots, that is elite level. That should be a development path for all non rim runners such as Towns. Jokic has been the best NBA scorer on floaters.

What I am trying to say is that is not "only" Finch fault to implement a high efficient offense around Gobert. It is also lack of fundamental skill such as floater in both Towns and Edwards scoring arsenals.

[thinktank]

Read on Twitter

At the beginning of last season, before he completely failed Nowell was really good at feeding Gobert. Below is an example:

https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2022/10/19/0022200010/579/13332721-8801-ec26-8084-4111c3c75032_1280x720.mp4

In four games against OKC, UTA, OKC, SAS he had four assist to Gobert. If Nowell could hit those open 3s, he and Gobert would have been one of the best NBA allyoop duos.

Read on Twitter

Nowell has that floater / mid range / crafty finishing at rim that benefits Gobert rim running game. Same with Conley. Now is up to Towns, Edwards, MCD to learn this.

43% of all Anderson shots are floaters, he was leading NBA at some point in last season in this category. Kyle hits 51% of these shots, that is elite level. That should be a development pass for all non rim runners such as Towns. Jokic has been the best NBA scorer on floaters.

What I am trying to say is that is not "only" Finch fault to implement a high efficient offense around Gobert. It is also lack of fundamental skill such as floater in both Towns and Edwards scoring arsenals.

Brilliant post.

Ant is killing it in FIBA but he’s not throwing lobs.

I’d love to see it. It’s not that tough. You just need awareness.

[minimus]

Read on Twitter

Yeah, the second tweet expresses exactly the same concern that I have: we have roster with Gobert and Edwards, but we lack movement shooters.

[Klomp]

Read on Twitter

[Klomp]

Here's the full conversation:

Watch on YouTube

[Dewey]

Most of these armchair stat guys can pound sand … this team isn’t going anywhere until they have players with leadership qualities and whole lot of grit. Conley is really all they got in those terms.

Rebounding, assists, and free throws… got to own this categories.

[TimberKat]

Biggest take away for me on that Finch interview:
1. Wolves were top 5 or top 10 D when Gobert was on the floor (JJ comment)
2. Not going to be easy to win 44.5 games with so many teams being competitive out west (JJ comment)
3. Finch wants more structure on offense next year to optimize spacing between Gobert/Towns)
4. We match up well with Denver with our two bigs and but needed more on ball D on Murray
5. Ant needs to see the entire floor better, not just where to create his own shoots but also how to optimize his teammates (JJ added like how he throw pass to Hayes)
6.Gobert/Kyle dance - no big deal, just don't do it in front of audience and camera.

[Klomp]

Biggest take away for me on that Finch interview:
1. Wolves were top 5 or top 10 D when Gobert was on the floor (JJ comment)
2. Not going to be easy to win 44.5 games with so many teams being competitive out west (JJ comment)
3. Finch wants more structure on offense next year to optimize spacing between Gobert/Towns)
4. We match up well with Denver with our two bigs and but needed more on ball D on Murray
5. Ant needs to see the entire floor better, not just where to create his own shoots but also how to optimize his teammates (JJ added like how he throw pass to Hayes)
6.Gobert/Kyle dance - no big deal, just don't do it in front of audience and camera.

My takeaway was when Finch described his role of coaching as tailoring an Armani suit to bring it to another level.

He specifically mentioned Ant's catch and shoot 3s. As fans, we see Ant's 7-plus 3s a game at 37% and say he's fine. But Finch looks at the numbers that say only 13.8% of his attempts in a game are catch and shoot 3s, but he shot 41.6% on them.

[Nick K]

Biggest take away for me on that Finch interview:
1. Wolves were top 5 or top 10 D when Gobert was on the floor (JJ comment)
2. Not going to be easy to win 44.5 games with so many teams being competitive out west (JJ comment)
3. Finch wants more structure on offense next year to optimize spacing between Gobert/Towns)
4. We match up well with Denver with our two bigs and but needed more on ball D on Murray
5. Ant needs to see the entire floor better, not just where to create his own shoots but also how to optimize his teammates (JJ added like how he throw pass to Hayes)
6.Gobert/Kyle dance - no big deal, just don't do it in front of audience and camera.

My takeaway was when Finch described his role of coaching as tailoring an Armani suit to bring it to another level.

He specifically mentioned Ant's catch and shoot 3s. As fans, we see Ant's 7-plus 3s a game at 37% and say he's fine. But Finch looks at the numbers that say only 13.8% of his attempts in a game are catch and shoot 3s, but he shot 41.6% on them.

My guess is Kat, Ant, and NAW will shoot a lot of 3's. More than last year.

How do they deal with rebounding and getting back on transition defense? They were bad at both last year. What changes will we see there?

[Klomp]

How do they deal with rebounding and getting back on transition defense? They were bad at both last year. What changes will we see there?

Finch has talked about this some, though I'm admittedly inferring some here. They didn't crash the glass last year in an attempt to be better in transition. Neither happened. (those are directly quoted to Finch) This could be another pointed factor in the moves they made this summer. Going from Taurean Prince to Troy Brown Jr. would be a significant improvement in rebounding (a net +2.0 rebounds per-36). While he probably won't see the floor much as a rookie, we know Miller has a nose for the ball in rebounding. At the break, going from Russell to Conley proved more effective. And just having Towns back in the lineup should help too.

[Nick K]

How do they deal with rebounding and getting back on transition defense? They were bad at both last year. What changes will we see there?

Finch has talked about this some, though I'm admittedly inferring some here. They didn't crash the glass last year in an attempt to be better in transition. Neither happened. (those are directly quoted to Finch) This could be another pointed factor in the moves they made this summer. Going from Taurean Prince to Troy Brown Jr. would be a significant improvement in rebounding (a net +2.0 rebounds per-36). While he probably won't see the floor much as a rookie, we know Miller has a nose for the ball in rebounding. At the break, going from Russell to Conley proved more effective. And just having Towns back in the lineup should help too.

I'm glad Finch has recognized some of his failings. I hate to say it but we are SO much better on paper this year. I wouldn't trade our team on paper for anybody else in the NBA. Mike Conley just might be the unsung hero.

They have a lot to prove to all of us though.

[TimberKat]

How do they deal with rebounding and getting back on transition defense? They were bad at both last year. What changes will we see there?

Finch has talked about this some, though I'm admittedly inferring some here. They didn't crash the glass last year in an attempt to be better in transition. Neither happened. (those are directly quoted to Finch) This could be another pointed factor in the moves they made this summer. Going from Taurean Prince to Troy Brown Jr. would be a significant improvement in rebounding (a net +2.0 rebounds per-36). While he probably won't see the floor much as a rookie, we know Miller has a nose for the ball in rebounding. At the break, going from Russell to Conley proved more effective. And just having Towns back in the lineup should help too.

I'm glad Finch has recognized some of his failings. I hate to say it but we are SO much better on paper this year. I wouldn't trade our team on paper for anybody else in the NBA. Mike Conley just might be the unsung hero.

They have a lot to prove to all of us though.

Could we try hang a carrot in front of players so they run faster back on D? I mean, if you aren't crashing the boards, run back when the shots go up and pickup the unguarded man that is closes to you.

[Kineto]

Once again, the Wolves had a good 1st half, and once again they collapsed in the 3rd quarter.

It's a scenario we saw time and time again last season.

So the question is:
- is it the players who slack off after half-time and can't keep up the required level of intensity?
- is it the coach who can't anticipate the opposition's adjustments and keep his team focused and motivated?

[Neeva]

Keeping him was/is just prolonging the inevitable. I think another slow start and he is gone mid season.

[minimus]

Read on Twitter

[Colbinii]

Keeping him was/is just prolonging the inevitable. I think another slow start and he is gone mid season.

Inevitable COY.

[shrink]

Keeping him was/is just prolonging the inevitable. I think another slow start and he is gone mid season.

Inevitable COY.

One of the gambling podcasters is hammering the 18-to-1 odds on Finch winning Coach of the Year.

I don’t blame him. In the eyes of the National narrative, the Wolves were considered a mediocre team, and some questioned whether they would even make the play in. Makes Finch look like a star!