The Official Chris Finch Thread

[guest81]

By my count at least 6 of our 14 losses should be wins. Hawks, Mavs, Celtics, Thunder, Hornets, and Spurs. When almost half of your losses are caused by the same phenomenon, you have to ask questions. That said, anything less than the 1 seed is a failure. Does this mean fire Finch, not necessarily, but you have to admit something is going wrong here.

Yea newsflash, every team who has ever played in nba history has had games where they should of won but didn't. They aren't a perfect team for sure, but no team is. Their best player is 22, of course there's going to be mistakes

You’re missing the point. When you are head and shoulders better than anyone else (like we are,) the standard is higher. We keep melting down in the fourth. This is something that needs to improve and is not. Lack of improvement is a sign of poor coaching. Twice this week we lost while blowing double digits leads in the fourth. Likewise, we almost lost the Nets game in the same way. At what point do you want Finch to actually do something about it?

They are not head and shoulders better then everyone else

[TimberKat]

Again this is just the wrong way to look at it. No team matters but us. We have 14 losses, that means we are 2nd in the west. We are losing the same way and even when we win it is way too close with insufficient margin for error. On our current trajectory we will not be a home seed. The defeats are self inflicted and a lot of blame is on finch for not making adjustments and holding guys accountable. Anything less than the best record in the nba for the best team is abject failure. You want proof we are the best team, we beat Boston once and should have twice. We beat OKC once and should have twice. We beat Denver in our only meeting. We beat the best, but we cannot be giving 5 games away in one month.

Anything less then the best record means Finch should be fired she the season is a failure? This is not serious talk

By my count at least 6 of our 14 losses should be wins. Hawks, Mavs, Celtics, Thunder, Hornets, and Spurs. When almost half of your losses are caused by the same phenomenon, you have to ask questions. That said, anything less than the 1 seed is a failure. Does this mean fire Finch, not necessarily, but you have to admit something is going wrong here.

I am a little more generous. If we won 3 of those 6 then I say we did OK, just hot shooting of opponents. Maybe even if we score a few more points in the 4th qtr or handle timeouts a little better? The first red flag was how we blew the 20pt lead vs MEM in the playoffs. I say we still don't handle timeouts very well.

[TimberKat]

Yea newsflash, every team who has ever played in nba history has had games where they should of won but didn't. They aren't a perfect team for sure, but no team is. Their best player is 22, of course there's going to be mistakes

You’re missing the point. When you are head and shoulders better than anyone else (like we are,) the standard is higher. We keep melting down in the fourth. This is something that needs to improve and is not. Lack of improvement is a sign of poor coaching. Twice this week we lost while blowing double digits leads in the fourth. Likewise, we almost lost the Nets game in the same way. At what point do you want Finch to actually do something about it?

They are not head and shoulders better then everyone else

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I am just wondering what is your expectation of this team and if you feel they are trending there? Are you happy with how they play the last 10 games?

I expect Twolves to be top 4 and 55 wins. They certainly aren't going that direction and something needs to be done in my opinion. We all have different opinion on what needs to be done and I am sure there is more than one way to get there. Including do nothing, Ant will learn after 5 more games. JMcD will turn the season around, he just need some rest with all star break.

You should also read how OKC fans are reacting to the DET loss, no difference or even more negative than some of the posts here about Wolves.

[BlacJacMac]

Yea newsflash, every team who has ever played in nba history has had games where they should of won but didn't. They aren't a perfect team for sure, but no team is. Their best player is 22, of course there's going to be mistakes

You’re missing the point. When you are head and shoulders better than anyone else (like we are,) the standard is higher. We keep melting down in the fourth. This is something that needs to improve and is not. Lack of improvement is a sign of poor coaching. Twice this week we lost while blowing double digits leads in the fourth. Likewise, we almost lost the Nets game in the same way. At what point do you want Finch to actually do something about it?

They are not head and shoulders better then everyone else

Agreed.

And I think #1 seed or bust is ridiculous.

But I do think if we don’t finish Top 4, we need to look hard at both coaching and roster construction.

If we don’t get out of the 1st round (barring major injuries), I think we need to see significant change.

[guest81]

You’re missing the point. When you are head and shoulders better than anyone else (like we are,) the standard is higher. We keep melting down in the fourth. This is something that needs to improve and is not. Lack of improvement is a sign of poor coaching. Twice this week we lost while blowing double digits leads in the fourth. Likewise, we almost lost the Nets game in the same way. At what point do you want Finch to actually do something about it?

They are not head and shoulders better then everyone else

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I am just wondering what is your expectation of this team and if you feel they are trending there? Are you happy with how they play the last 10 games?

I expect Twolves to be top 4 and 55 wins. They certainly aren't going that direction and something needs to be done in my opinion. We all have different opinion on what needs to be done and I am sure there is more than one way to get there. Including do nothing, Ant will learn after 5 more games. JMcD will turn the season around, he just need some rest with all star break.

You should also read how OKC fans are reacting to the DET loss, no difference or even more negative than some of the posts here about Wolves.

They are literally going in that direction based on their record. If you told me at the start of the year that they would be 1st in the west at this point with teams like Denver, sun's, Dallas, Lakers, and kings and you aren't happy with that I don't know what to tell you

[winforlose]

They are not head and shoulders better then everyone else

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I am just wondering what is your expectation of this team and if you feel they are trending there? Are you happy with how they play the last 10 games?

I expect Twolves to be top 4 and 55 wins. They certainly aren't going that direction and something needs to be done in my opinion. We all have different opinion on what needs to be done and I am sure there is more than one way to get there. Including do nothing, Ant will learn after 5 more games. JMcD will turn the season around, he just need some rest with all star break.

You should also read how OKC fans are reacting to the DET loss, no difference or even more negative than some of the posts here about Wolves.

They are literally going in that direction based on their record. If you told me at the start of the year that they would be 1st in the west at this point with teams like Denver, sun's, Dallas, Lakers, and kings and you aren't happy with that I don't know what to tell you

End of the day you are happy with baby steps and I want us to reach our potential. I see our team as literally the best starting 5 in basketball by a decent margin. I see our bench as top 5. Overall our defense has proven out. The problem is the way we execute our offense. I blame Finch for not learning, the team (especially KAT and Ant) for not listening, and Jaden and Naz for not being consistent. Overall, if your happy with the current trend in January then we have very different opinions about the game.

[TimberKat]

They are not head and shoulders better then everyone else

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I am just wondering what is your expectation of this team and if you feel they are trending there? Are you happy with how they play the last 10 games?

I expect Twolves to be top 4 and 55 wins. They certainly aren't going that direction and something needs to be done in my opinion. We all have different opinion on what needs to be done and I am sure there is more than one way to get there. Including do nothing, Ant will learn after 5 more games. JMcD will turn the season around, he just need some rest with all star break.

You should also read how OKC fans are reacting to the DET loss, no difference or even more negative than some of the posts here about Wolves.

They are literally going in that direction based on their record. If you told me at the start of the year that they would be 1st in the west at this point with teams like Denver, sun's, Dallas, Lakers, and kings and you aren't happy with that I don't know what to tell you

Not the way they been playing the last 10 games 6 and 4 with 2 home losses. They are trending down. I would be much happier if they trend up to first place like the Clippers. They are bottom 9th in points score which is a negative leading indicator that 1st place is not sustainable. To me, their record looks like the 2001-02 Wolves that started 30-10 and end up 50-32. One can argue Wolves still rank top 8th on most NBA Polls and still on a 57 win pace but will see what happen tomorrow at OKC.

[BlacJacMac]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I am just wondering what is your expectation of this team and if you feel they are trending there? Are you happy with how they play the last 10 games?

I expect Twolves to be top 4 and 55 wins. They certainly aren't going that direction and something needs to be done in my opinion. We all have different opinion on what needs to be done and I am sure there is more than one way to get there. Including do nothing, Ant will learn after 5 more games. JMcD will turn the season around, he just need some rest with all star break.

You should also read how OKC fans are reacting to the DET loss, no difference or even more negative than some of the posts here about Wolves.

They are literally going in that direction based on their record. If you told me at the start of the year that they would be 1st in the west at this point with teams like Denver, sun's, Dallas, Lakers, and kings and you aren't happy with that I don't know what to tell you

End of the day you are happy with baby steps and I want us to reach our potential. I see our team as literally the best starting 5 in basketball by a decent margin. I see our bench as top 5. Overall our defense has proven out. The problem is the way we execute our offense. I blame Finch for not learning, the team (especially KAT and Ant) for not listening, and Jaden and Naz for not being consistent. Overall, if you’re happy with the current trend in January then we have very different opinions about the game.

So Finch must be the worst coach in the league if we can’t manage more than the 18th ranked offense?

(Or we’re not as good as you think we are)

[TimberKat]

End of the day you are happy with baby steps and I want us to reach our potential. I see our team as literally the best starting 5 in basketball by a decent margin. I see our bench as top 5. Overall our defense has proven out. The problem is the way we execute our offense. I blame Finch for not learning, the team (especially KAT and Ant) for not listening, and Jaden and Naz for not being consistent. Overall, if your happy with the current trend in January then we have very different opinions about the game.

Agree with most stuff but I don't think our bench is anywhere near top 5. Naz is Good but still inconsistent game to game. NAW is Good. Beyond that, it falls off the cliff. We should bring back Jalen Nowell

[winforlose]

They are literally going in that direction based on their record. If you told me at the start of the year that they would be 1st in the west at this point with teams like Denver, sun's, Dallas, Lakers, and kings and you aren't happy with that I don't know what to tell you

End of the day you are happy with baby steps and I want us to reach our potential. I see our team as literally the best starting 5 in basketball by a decent margin. I see our bench as top 5. Overall our defense has proven out. The problem is the way we execute our offense. I blame Finch for not learning, the team (especially KAT and Ant) for not listening, and Jaden and Naz for not being consistent. Overall, if you’re happy with the current trend in January then we have very different opinions about the game.

So Finch must be the worst coach in the league if we can’t manage more than the 18th ranked offense?

(Or we’re not as good as you think we are)

Finch has without doubt the worst offensive system in the league. There is literally no doubt, because Finch has no system. Organized chaos is basically telling the guys to use their talent to figure it out. Every once in a blue moon we run a play, but that is far from having a system.

You think I am wrong, tell me who has a more talented top 5? If you think they are more talented, would you trade our 5 for their 5? The only team that comes close is Boston, and we should have swept them.

[guest81]

End of the day you are happy with baby steps and I want us to reach our potential. I see our team as literally the best starting 5 in basketball by a decent margin. I see our bench as top 5. Overall our defense has proven out. The problem is the way we execute our offense. I blame Finch for not learning, the team (especially KAT and Ant) for not listening, and Jaden and Naz for not being consistent. Overall, if you’re happy with the current trend in January then we have very different opinions about the game.

So Finch must be the worst coach in the league if we can’t manage more than the 18th ranked offense?

(Or we’re not as good as you think we are)

Finch has without doubt the worst offensive system in the league. There is literally no doubt, because Finch has no system. Organized chaos is basically telling the guys to use their talent to figure it out. Every once in a blue moon we run a play, but that is far from having a system.

You think I am wrong, tell me who has a more talented top 5? If you think they are more talented, would you trade our 5 for their 5? The only team that comes close is Boston, and we should have swept them.

If the Wolves get into a series with pretty much anyone in the west, you could argue they won't have the best player in the series.

[winforlose]

So Finch must be the worst coach in the league if we can’t manage more than the 18th ranked offense?

(Or we’re not as good as you think we are)

Finch has without doubt the worst offensive system in the league. There is literally no doubt, because Finch has no system. Organized chaos is basically telling the guys to use their talent to figure it out. Every once in a blue moon we run a play, but that is far from having a system.

You think I am wrong, tell me who has a more talented top 5? If you think they are more talented, would you trade our 5 for their 5? The only team that comes close is Boston, and we should have swept them.

If the Wolves get into a series with pretty much anyone in the west, you could argue they won't have the best player in the series.

SGA is better than Ant. Jokic is better than Karl. PG or KL vs Ant is tougher, Doncic is better than anyone we have. KD is probably better than Ant. So you have a point. But we have a DPOY in Rudy, we have a stellar Mike, a defensive standout with offensive potential in Jaden. Karl and Ant might not be the best players but they are both great in the areas they excel. We have the best starting 5 in the west hands down, and I truly believe the best starting five in the NBA.

[guest81]

Finch has without doubt the worst offensive system in the league. There is literally no doubt, because Finch has no system. Organized chaos is basically telling the guys to use their talent to figure it out. Every once in a blue moon we run a play, but that is far from having a system.

You think I am wrong, tell me who has a more talented top 5? If you think they are more talented, would you trade our 5 for their 5? The only team that comes close is Boston, and we should have swept them.

If the Wolves get into a series with pretty much anyone in the west, you could argue they won't have the best player in the series.

SGA is better than Ant. Jokic is better than Karl. PG or KL vs Ant is tougher, Doncic is better than anyone we have. KD is probably better than Ant. So you have a point. But we have a DPOY in Rudy, we have a stellar Mike, a defensive standout with offensive potential in Jaden. Karl and Ant might not be the best players but they are both great in the areas they excel. We have the best starting 5 in the west hands down, and I truly believe the best starting five in the NBA.

And as of right now, they are 1st in the west. These past couple games they haven't even had their whole starting 5

[winforlose]

If the Wolves get into a series with pretty much anyone in the west, you could argue they won't have the best player in the series.

SGA is better than Ant. Jokic is better than Karl. PG or KL vs Ant is tougher, Doncic is better than anyone we have. KD is probably better than Ant. So you have a point. But we have a DPOY in Rudy, we have a stellar Mike, a defensive standout with offensive potential in Jaden. Karl and Ant might not be the best players but they are both great in the areas they excel. We have the best starting 5 in the west hands down, and I truly believe the best starting five in the NBA.

And as of right now, they are 1st in the west. These past couple games they haven't even had their whole starting 5

Even with the best rotation in basketball we still have as many losses as the Clipper and Thunder. We have blown too many games, and while I don’t think we should fire Finch (yet,) he has work to do to secure his job next year. Again, he has THE WORST offensive scheme in basketball and it shows.

[BlacJacMac]

Look at Conley’s splits. His 11 games in January are a huge step back. He’s playing less than 30 mpg and may be wearing down.

McDaniels has been my biggest disappointment of the year. His defense appears to have taken a step back and his immaturity has really been rearing its ugly head.

And outside of Naz and NAW, who has done anything off our bench?

[winforlose]

Look at Conley’s splits. His 11 games in January are a huge step back. He’s playing less than 30 mpg and may be wearing down.

McDaniels has been my biggest disappointment of the year. His defense appears to have taken a step back and his immaturity has really been rearing its ugly head.

And outside of Naz and NAW, who has done anything off our bench?

Our rotation is really 8. JMAC had some good stints but overall is fringe rotation. Kyle has some good games, including high assists and good defense. Kyle’s problem is his fit with Rudy, and lack of system that puts him in bad spots on the floor (what good is he in the corner if he won’t shoot the 3.) My point is compare Kyle to other teams 8th rotation guy and he comes out fine. Naz is slumping but he was 7th in scoring in the 6th man race, is an emerging shot blocker, has been showing improvement in his footwork, and is shooting a very efficient clip from both deep and the paint. NAW is just awesome for his money and is a fantastic multi-positional defender who can shoot the 3 37.8%. We need a backup PG, but what more can you ask of the bench at this point?

Mike is wearing down a bit, but he will be rested and ready when he comes back. Jaden is the weak link, but he has the potential to be the third offensive option and all NBA defense. For a 5th man you can do much worse.

[BlacJacMac]

I love our Big 3, but they all have warts as well.

Gobert has no offense outside the paint and really struggles to catch the ball.

KAT still has his stray voltage moments and too often allows others to get into his head.

Ant is in his way to superstardom, but he doesn’t really get how to play with others - beyond simple passes for assists. He has the best screener in the game in Rudy, but refuses to use them. And he just can’t grasp the concept of if he’d give up the ball early, move and get it back, he’ll get so much easier shots than trying to force it on his own.

We probably have a top 5 starting group as far as sheer talent, but their flaws and possible lack of synergy makes it impossible for me to say they’re the best - let alone by a lot.

[winforlose]

I love our Big 3, but they all have warts as well.

Gobert has no offense outside the paint and really struggles to catch the ball.

KAT still has his stray voltage moments and too often allows others to get into his head.

Ant is in his way to superstardom, but he doesn’t really get how to play with others - beyond simple passes for assists. He has the best screener in the game in Rudy, but refuses to use them. And he just can’t grasp the concept of if he’d give up the ball early, move and get it back, he’ll get so much easier shots than trying to force it on his own.

We probably have a top 5 starting group as far as sheer talent, but their flaws and possible lack of synergy makes it impossible for me to say they’re the best - let alone by a lot.

By sheer talent is my point. That is why you need Finch to help them bridge the gap, and why it pisses me off so much when gets out of the way and lets them figure it out (which they often don’t.) We need much more structure and we need better rotations to maximize our strengths.

[FrenchMinnyFan]

I don't think the issue is only the starting 5. Bench has been terrible ( except NAW and Reid). And Slomo slump + milton never find his place hurt a lot. I still believe that on trade improving the bench can make a huge difference.

[frankenwolf]

By my count at least 6 of our 14 losses should be wins. Hawks, Mavs, Celtics, Thunder, Hornets, and Spurs. When almost half of your losses are caused by the same phenomenon, you have to ask questions. That said, anything less than the 1 seed is a failure. Does this mean fire Finch, not necessarily, but you have to admit something is going wrong here.

Yea newsflash, every team who has ever played in nba history has had games where they should of won but didn't. They aren't a perfect team for sure, but no team is. Their best player is 22, of course there's going to be mistakes

You’re missing the point. When you are head and shoulders better than anyone else (like we are,) the standard is higher. We keep melting down in the fourth. This is something that needs to improve and is not. Lack of improvement is a sign of poor coaching. Twice this week we lost while blowing double digits leads in the fourth. Likewise, we almost lost the Nets game in the same way. At what point do you want Finch to actually do something about it?

To address the bold part of your comment, what can Finch do? It has been pointed out that our losses recently have been with out, or with a minimum performance from, Minnesota Mike. The lineup he put out there to start the 4th qtr of the Spurs game was indeed questionable, but he quite possibly is showing TC that we need another MC, someone who will see the game for what it is and stop the bleeding. Also, but I since I am not in the coach's inner circle, maybe he's drilling some lessons into these guys who think they can just cruise along.

IDK, I am upset that the Wolves have not done as well as I thought they would recently, but Finch is not 100% responsible for the construction of this team. If you had told me that Shake would be as bad as he has been, I would not have not agreed with you at all, yet here we are.