On the one-year anniversary of his tenure with the franchise, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch sat down for a wide-ranging conversation with Chris Hine of The Star Tribune to discuss his approach to the team.
Finch, 52, has guided Minnesota to a 32-28 record this season thus far, good for the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference. Center Karl-Anthony Towns made his first All-Star team since 2019, and second-year shooting guard Anthony Edwards has continued his trajectory toward becoming an All-Star talent in his own right.
Finch was an assistant coach under Nick Nurse for the Raptors during the first half of the 2020/21 season before accepting the gig as the head man in Minnesota on February 22, 2021.
Finch discussed his expectations for the club’s roster upon arriving as head coach late into the 2020/21 NBA season. Under Finch’s abbreviated stewardship as a midseason replacement for Ryan Saunders last year, the Timberwolves ultimately finished 16-25.
“I thought there was a lot of talent, particularly in [Towns] and [point guard D’Angelo Russell],” Finch said of his initial impressions of Minnesota’s roster. “Not just talent but skill. You can have talent, but skill is another thing altogether too.”
This season, the Timberwolves have been striving to strike a balance defensively between a proactive and reactive approach towards opposing offenses. Finch considers this tactic a good dress rehearsal for adjusting to playoff matchups.
“Now that you played teams multiple times, they have a good feel for who you are and what you’re trying to do,” Finch noted. “Our defense is pretty aggressive and aggressive defenses can be baited into a lot of things. Tempering some of that or using that at the right time is key. Two, as we whittle everything down towards what we hope is a playoff presence, it’s all about being able to adjust and execute different schemes in a playoff.”
Edwards, the No. 1 pick out of Georgia in 2020, has taken an offensive leap recently. Finch discussed how the 20-year-old is learning to adjust to different defenses. Through 55 games this season, Edwards is averaging 21.4 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 3.7 APG, and 1.5 SPG. The 6’4″ wing has shooting splits this season of .431/.348/.765.
“He is definitely a smart and quick learner,” Finch said. “Obviously we’re walking him through it on video, pointing it out when we see it in a game as soon as it happens and communicating so he can start making some adjustments. … It’s not on autopilot for him to switch gears right away and do something different. Every night it might be different so he’s still in that phase where he’s struggling to get an offensive rhythm at times because of this.”
Yawn. Can we interview a winning coach?
So…you really didn’t see when they pointed out the Wolves winning record? Sounds like you only care about reading about the same old big market teams.
A winning record for now. I don’t expect them to finish the season there. Nostra-dunker thinks they’ll finish closer to .500.
And Minnesota is not a small market. Prince, Husker Du, A Prairie Home Companion. The capitol is 2 cities for heavens sake.
So obviously you know that St. Paul is the capital and not Minny too right?
I’m sure you think NYC is one big city too… If you only care about winning teams then why take time to comment on a team so beneath your standards?
I don’t waste my time on state capitols there already enough things to remember.
All I need to know is where I’m goin man
Lots of “cities” discussed overall are multiple cities, why would you expect anything less with one up North? Get over yourself and join the 20th century at least. Afterwards, we’ll then try to get you into the 21st century and the idea of “mass transit” making incorporation of different areas fairly minor. You’re not ready for the internet of the 22nd century though.
Great band, ridiculous name. The British Goo Goo Dolls in that regard.
Anyway, HC Finch… He does say interesting, possibly revealing things. Possibly the players respect that?
Not every coach would expect those things from Edwards, who could also be used as a weapon unleashed, something for the other team to make adjustments to (and hope he misses).
You think Prince is the British Goo Goo Dolls? He is from Minnesota though
He wins more games than you. A lot more. So he would seem to fit the bill.
I just wish they’d attack the rim more and stop taking so many threes.
^^^^^^^^^^^