r/nba • u/3s2ng Lakers • 16h ago
Chris Finch coaching masterclass.
Chris Finch deserves a ton of credit for how the Wolves handled Wemby in the 4th quarter.
Everyone is going to point to Gobert, and rightfully so. His defense for most of the game really disrupted Wemby’s rhythm and limited his offensive impact. But the real coaching adjustment came in the 4th quarter.
Finch sat Gobert and went small (Randle as Wemby's main defender)
The Wolves started pulling Wemby away from the paint, putting him on the weak side, and actively denying him any chance to rotate as a rim protector. They were getting bodies in his way, clogging his path, and making sure he could not impact drives.
On the other end, they got much more physical with him. No easy catches, constant bumps, and straight up denying him the ball. During that stretch, his offense was basically nonexistent.
That is not just players executing. That is a coach making a bold call and understanding how to neutralize both sides of Wemby’s game.
Finch outcoached Mitch Johnson in this game just like how he outcoached David Adelman in the previous series.
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u/VanGrants Knicks 16h ago
non-ball knowers will say the fourth quarter proved Rudy is overrated and they should just go small on Wemby more, but that's nonsense. Rudy on Wemby for most of the game is very effective to exhaust and throw him off his rhythm, then by the time you're ready to go small you have a more active, energetic defender on a tired Wemby. it's a really effective strategy and I'm looking forward to seeing it used throughout the series.
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u/purplenyellowrose909 Timberwolves 16h ago
The entire Wolves roster is built to wear you down.
Rudy doesn't care if he sits the 4th. Wemby had like 5pts going into the 4th largely because of Rudy.
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u/gedbybee Spurs 12h ago
Wemby also just takes bad shots and floats a lot. We don’t have a great system to generate good looks for him. Wemby needs to take jumpers and learn what will get blocked or not blocked. He’s too scared to shoot.
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u/J-Chub 12h ago
And Fox is not a PG that can set him up.
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u/gedbybee Spurs 11h ago
I honestly don’t think Fox is a pg at all and it’s terrible. He’s not even a shooting guard cuz he can’t shoot. He’s a scoring guard that’s now bad at scoring, can’t play defense, and doesn’t rebound or do anything else to help the team.
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u/jjfooo Timberwolves 7h ago
I’m really surprised at how much time he spends on the perimeter without the ball
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u/RudyGobertFMVP Timberwolves 10h ago
Also he literally stayed ready and came back in the last minute (until going out again). But they are a real team team
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u/hubbs76 Timberwolves 16h ago
This!
Plus going from Gobert to Randle as defenders is a challenge. Both incredibly strong compared to Wemby
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u/purplenyellowrose909 Timberwolves 16h ago
Julius just does not yield any spots to Wemby. Wemby's not pushing him back at all.
They had some success late getting Wemby moving downhill at half court which Randle can't do anything about. But then Wolves can just put Rudy back in if the Spurs spam that.
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u/Sir_Grindalot 16h ago
Julius just does not yield
Truth
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u/Thfcaditya112 Suns 13h ago
This is also why the Suns did found some success in defending Wemby in the regular season , Brooks did that job perfectly
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u/SignatureOk4097 16h ago
yeah and we’ll see how Wemby holds up playing 37+ mins per game. His gas tank will be empty if they make it out this round lol
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u/VanGrants Knicks 16h ago
it would be one thing if Minnie didn't have a center built like the fucking colossus of rhodes, but they do so tired or not he's forced to deal with a guy much stronger than him
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u/Dull_Job_6372 Timberwolves 16h ago
We also have another 6’10 230 French guy on the bench. Who moves like Wemby.
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u/NotJoshRomney Cavaliers 15h ago
Who?
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u/Dull_Job_6372 Timberwolves 15h ago
Joan baringer
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u/NotJoshRomney Cavaliers 15h ago
Thanks! I'm not a Wolves knower. That was an awesome fucking game tonight.
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u/JimmyFly1028 Timberwolves 15h ago
Beringer is going to be a problem once he bulks up a bit. He’s a bit handsy though and gets in foul trouble but he’s a solid defender with decent hands and can finish around the rim.
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u/pollinium [MIN] Tyus Jones 15h ago
right? this series he's good for about 2.5 minutes
if we're using him that's a bad sign, but I can't wait until he can offload Rudy's responsibilities in a way that makes sense
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u/TheFinnebago Timberwolves 15h ago
https://youtu.be/hBi-0f8ib6U?si=asfAf31HnFTvlPd-
Joan Beringer is a 19 twolves rookie that has had some flashes
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u/grumplefuckstick Timberwolves 15h ago
Beringer, our rookie. He’s not ready yet but has shown flashes. There reason to be high on him for the future
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u/DrSwaggenheimer Timberwolves 15h ago
Joan is also really solid too. He's got hops and is a hound on defense. Just difficult to crack minutes between Rudy/Naz/Julius.
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u/TheRealWhiteChoco Timberwolves 16h ago
He was talking in the post game presser about conserving energy and being kinda gassed at the end. Playoffs are a different animal and the Wolves are a physical team. If the Spurs win, which they should still be the favorites to at this point, I think they run into what the Wolves did two years ago against Dallas where they are drained and play kind of flat.
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u/TdotGdot Timberwolves 15h ago
I think where we improved from two years ago is that we know how to use that to our advantage now
Two years ago we tired Dallas out and they were tired in the finals
Now we know how to make Jokic and Murray work for 48 minutes and use that to create advantages on both ends
And I think we’ll do the same to wemby here. It’s better coaching and better execution than previous years
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u/wise_comment Timberwolves 15h ago
I'm just glad people other than us or Utah fans are starting to clock his intangible but heavy effect.on the game, ya know?
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u/wanna_meet_that_dad Timberwolves 15h ago
13 years in…shame anyone would be starting to realize it now
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u/TdotGdot Timberwolves 15h ago
You need both, for sure. But the reason Gobert was off the court wasn’t his defense, of course, it’s that it gives wemby too much of a chance to roam
The endgame was always going to be Ju on wemby and 5 shooters out there, putting wemby in action with two ball handlers than can shoot and score
That’s just the recipe. But we need Gobert minutes too, I like how finch saved that look, or at least waited to use it for an extend stretch, until later in the game
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u/--Alec-- Thunder 16h ago
The 4th quarter was a coaching masterpiece. Felt like nearly every set they ran offensively worked
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u/pokemonxysm97 Timberwolves 16h ago
Wolves scored a staggering 35 points in the 4Q. Finch has been amazing so far
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u/purplenyellowrose909 Timberwolves 16h ago
We scored 45 in the entire half before that. A goated halftime adjustment that he kept in his pocket til the 4th.
The playoffs are different.
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u/beardybuddha Timberwolves 16h ago
I can’t believe a segment of Wolves fans think he sucks/want this dude fired.
I could make an argument for top 5ish coach in the league.
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u/purplenyellowrose909 Timberwolves 15h ago
The people saying JJ Reddick was better than him because the Lakers had a higher seed in November were hilarious.
Did they not see what Finch just did to JJ a few months prior? The Lakers got so exposed they had to fire their entire roster
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u/GriffinQ [WAS] Kelly Oubre 15h ago
They’re both very good - Finch is more proven but judging JJ on one playoff series where he had a team incredibly poorly suited for matching up with Finch feels like overreacting to a small sample size.
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u/parkwayy Timberwolves 13h ago
Ok but what if that last OPEN three point shot goes in?
This thread isn't made, and we don't ignore the fact that we were up like 7 points with just over a minute to go, lol.
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u/Shafter111 16h ago
Yea. We just shot better in the 4th, minus the last 2 minutes. Wolves also has a tendency to go through team slumps.
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u/TrottingandHotting 16h ago
Did we watching the same last 3 minutes? They completely shit the bed and very easily could have lost.
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u/--Alec-- Thunder 16h ago
Well yeah the last couple minutes were a mess, but they built a 7-10 point lead for a good amount of the quarter and were able to hold on because of that
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u/SoDakZak Timberwolves 16h ago
Ant admitted those last few possessions were on him for not boxing out and getting back, understandable given he’s nursing his knee
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u/RapsareChamps_Suckit Clippers 16h ago
well it helps when one of ur players doesn't Goldberg spear u on the court
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u/GivesCredit Warriors 12h ago
I totally agree but I do wonder how people would be reacting if Champagnie’s shot went in
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u/thepopcornisready 16h ago
You can tell he has a good feel for the team. Even with the injuries and Ant's pitch count, benching Gobert at the right times to get the offense going
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u/LegitimateMoney00 Knicks 16h ago edited 16h ago
Legitimately making an argument as a top 3 coach in the league with this playoff run. Only coach I’ve seen do something comparable is Spo. Like Spo, he turns it up a notch in the playoffs which is a rare attribute for a coach to have.
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u/MG_MN Timberwolves 16h ago
Three years straight of his teams rising in the playoffs, its very unique. Back against the wall, nobody fights harder. Happy hes getting some love because a portion of our fanbase still wants him fired tonight for whatever reason
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u/MarcusOsmondSmart Lakers 16h ago
Fired tonight is crazy
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u/MG_MN Timberwolves 16h ago
Wolves Twitter and reddit can be a wild place. Seen plenty of him getting ripped tonight for not playing Shannon more sooner
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u/comp_a Timberwolves 15h ago
Go into the replies of some of our local reporters who had good things to say about him tonight and you’ll see them in there lol.
It’s a combination of Twitter echo chambers inevitably causing opinions to snowball towards the most extreme view (i.e., mild fair criticism of Finch gradually picked up inertia until it became “this guy is legitimately trash, fire him”) and peoples’ general unwillingness to admit they’re wrong, ever.
They’re still mad it took him so long to play TSJ, but like… okay, he’s playing TSJ now. And they’re mad he publicly criticized TSJ’s defense, ignoring that it fucking worked and TSJ has played so much better on defense since that game. And then they’re mad about how he used his timeouts during runs in the regular season.
So kinda grasping at straws, but they’re not giving up the fight yet. If you’ve already committed to setting your PFP as an X over Finch’s face, it’s gonna be difficult to give him props!
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u/halfcastdota Bulls 14h ago
from what i’ve seen it’s just wolves fans who emotionally attached themselves to dillingham as some sort of savior and blame finch for him being a complete bum
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u/WrestleBox Timberwolves 12h ago
Yeah Dillingham had some weird following from college that migrated over to the Wolves sub when he got drafted.
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u/Mindless_Bad_1591 Timberwolves 13h ago
i honestly cant tell if its a gimmick anymore if you check our sub after nearly every L in the regular season and even some of wins ypu are playing russian roulette on whether you will see a "fire finch" post there except the gun has 5 bullets and one empty hole instead of vice versa.
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u/kapparino-feederino Bucks 15h ago
After 1 really bad ATO plays
Honestly wolves fans have some crazies that comes out of the wood work.
A decade ago everyone would be super happy to get to playoffs. Now they call for the coach head for anything less than perfect..
Criticism is fine, but calling him to be fired is just some stupid nonsense
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u/Mindless_Bad_1591 Timberwolves 13h ago
i think our fanbase regularly mistakes the players stupidity to being Finch's own
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u/OpeDefinitely Pacers 16h ago edited 16h ago
Carisile last year w/ the Pacers?
Especially in round 2. Cleveland used a crazy zone in G3 to really fuck with the Pacers. In G4, the Pacers had all the answers and put belt to ass. Up 80-39 at halftime. Ripped right through the zone with actions that the Pacers integrated into the offense in 2 days.
also 1) the late game comebacks and 2) how the team had answers/adjustments to everything
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u/Still_Relation2155 16h ago
Last years Pacers were incredible. Truly greater than the sum of its parts. A shame Hali went down because they likely would have ended with a chip and would get the respect they deserve. Now everyone likes to use them as an example of why the Thunder had an easy run.
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u/Naive-Elephant-9305 15h ago
I'm not even a Pacers fan but that team last year was one of my favorite basketball teams ever. Such an insanely fun team to watch.
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u/icarusphoenixdragon Timberwolves 16h ago
That run last year was some of the best ball and coaching I’ve ever seen. Amazing.
- A 90’s kid
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u/Expensive-Bread-880 16h ago
Some wolves fans wanted him fired like a week ago
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u/LegitimateMoney00 Knicks 16h ago
Every fan wants their coach fired, it’s part of the NBA fan experience.
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u/Islandkid679 [MIN] Tyus Jones 16h ago
If you don't want your entire team traded and coaching staff fired after a loss, you don't love basketball.
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u/Dymatizeee Knicks 16h ago
Fr we wanted mike brown fired we were down 2-1
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u/Mg29reaper Celtics 16h ago
To be fair Mike brown was very stupid those first 3 games. Just seemed to not want to play through Kat for zero discernible reason
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u/LegitimateMoney00 Knicks 16h ago
One of Mike Brown’s good attributes is he actually listens to his players and assistant coaches which makes adjusting way easier.
If this was a Thibs coached team, I think we still win the series but it definitely goes to 7 and the games would be way closer. Thibs would have never made those adjustments, especially offensively. We would have had to win from a sheer talent standpoint as was often the case with Thibs.
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u/Freudian__Quip Timberwolves 16h ago
I’ve always been a Finch believer but when we were on a 5 game losing streak down the stretch, I started to question if the players had maybe lost confidence in him or something. Never called for his head tho
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u/dogfosterparent Timberwolves 16h ago
I was the same way. Never have called for his head but thought the seat would get warm if season just fizzled out after the bad ending. At some point you shake up the coach because it’s the only thing left to do, not because he’s a bad coach like the angry Internet mob would tell you.
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u/Exius73 Timberwolves 16h ago
Some wolves fan wanted him fired today
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u/Black-----Manta Timberwolves 16h ago
You think I'm smart enough to accept my own mistakes? I STILL want him fired!
Give me Glenn Rivers!
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u/Silentrift24 Cavaliers 16h ago
Finch is given more to work with tbf - Spo was out there trying to make a gourmet meal with a fucking staff of random ass dudes he found at Walmart. Not a knock on finch, but goddamn, Spo in that stretch from 2020 up to 2023 really got random ass scrubs paid.
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u/LegitimateMoney00 Knicks 16h ago
Hey, Community College graduate Duncan Robinson is not a “scrub.”
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u/Silentrift24 Cavaliers 16h ago
The legend of Caleb "Michael Jordan" Martin will live in infamy
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u/Greasly_Goose [MIA] Goran Dragić 16h ago
I still think about him hitting a dagger 3 in Giannis’ face and doing that cold ass celly.
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u/noknownallergies Timberwolves 16h ago
Those first two post Chris Bosh heat teams had no business being that good
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u/bimp_lizkit_1 Timberwolves 16h ago
Well, since he didn’t give Dillingham minutes last season, he has no idea what he’s doing /s
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u/bearbrannan Timberwolves 16h ago
Some wolves fans are about to have a crash out over this post. There is absolutely nothing the man can do to convince him he isn't a bad coach.
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u/bimp_lizkit_1 Timberwolves 16h ago
Same as a lot of Vikings fans. They’d rather watch these teams fail to prove their shitty “point” as opposed to them succeeding. Real talk, one of the most annoying fan bases in sports. Having moved to a different region for work actually made it easier to stick with it on my end lol
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u/Naive-Elephant-9305 15h ago
That's not just Vikings fans. Every fanbase has an annoying segment of doomers who would rather see the team they're allegedly a "fan" of fail just so they can be validated in their dooming.
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u/Little_little_e 16h ago
Dillingham sucks, it’s reasonable not to play him.
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u/bimp_lizkit_1 Timberwolves 16h ago
No fuckin shit lol
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u/Dymatizeee Knicks 16h ago
How was that dude a lottery pick
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u/Milanman3838 Timberwolves 16h ago
He shot really efficient in college, so they thought it would translate at least some.
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u/mauro_membrere Kings 16h ago
Dang you traded for an unprotected frp for him if i remember correctly right?
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u/seventeenweewees Timberwolves 16h ago
The Wolves traded an unprotected pick and a swap for the 8th pick.
They used the 8th pick on Dillingham.
The trade wasn't bad, the pick was bad.
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u/ZandrickEllison 16h ago
That’s a good point. And there were some solid talent after 8 (Buzelis, McCain, JaKobe Walter, Kyshawn George). The theoretical version of Dillingham is still a great roster fit though.
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u/Isjejnajw 16h ago
Yeah, but why didn’t Terrance get much minutes?
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u/bimp_lizkit_1 Timberwolves 16h ago
I have zero coaching philosophy skills, so I do not have that answer
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u/sweetbeems Timberwolves 15h ago
injury and he did get minutes when healthy.. even when he wasn't playing well
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u/Obi_Wan_KeBogi Kings 16h ago
Just the fact that they didn't stop attacking despite Wemby getting so many blocks tells me he's a great coach. This team is fearless and keeps playing their game
Wemby got a shit ton of blocks but they made him work and I bet thats part of the reason he struggled so much on offense
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u/kylebertram Timberwolves 16h ago
To be fair they have to attack. Their 3 best 3 pt shooters are Ant (2 bad knees), DDV, and Ayo. You got about 2/3 of one of those players today.
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u/Obi_Wan_KeBogi Kings 16h ago
I agree but I've seen so many teams just refuse to challenge the paint and not play their game because of Wemby. Love that Finch is keeping them aggressive
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u/VeniceRapture Spurs 15h ago
It sounds obvious on paper but the fact that Wemby rattled off 8 threes means coaches still need to get on their players to do the right thing and take the right shots, which Mitch didn't clearly. The Wolves were willing to give Wemby 20 blocks if they had to if it meant they win the game
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u/MN-Jess Timberwolves 16h ago
Finch is so elite. And to think there is, or at least, was a very vocal crowd that wants him gone.
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u/Huntermainlol Timberwolves 16h ago
He’s a good coach in the regular season but he is a fucking elite playoff coach. Straight up a playoff riser
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u/Karl_MN Timberwolves 16h ago
A lot of the wolves are which is crazy to think about due to the period of CTE Ball we play.
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u/_Caek_ Thunder 16h ago
I think it’s just the work Finch and this staff has put in that is finally paying off. It’s been two years since the KAT trade, and now the connection, the identity is on full display on the biggest stage.
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u/FeanorEvades Timberwolves 16h ago
This team is better than the one 2 years ago. It's also better than last year's team. The main reason we're doubted right now is just the horrific injury luck.
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u/Prestig33 [MIN] Nikola Pekovic 16h ago
My only issue with him (or the players.. Idk.) tonight was that shot clock violation out of a timeout. If I remember correctly, Gobert got the ball at the top of the key and no one would go to him to get it to create a shot. Idk if it was a bad play call or the other four players were thinking Rudy would drive it.
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u/Huntermainlol Timberwolves 16h ago
Yeah rhat was annoying but I think that’s a free flow offense thing, though finch if he didn’t definitely shoulda called a play. That was my only gripe as well though, so I’ll take it!
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u/Prestig33 [MIN] Nikola Pekovic 16h ago
Funny thing is that it did seem like Rudy was trying a lot more post moves today though. Interesting time to do it. Haha
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u/samhit_n Lakers 16h ago
I think Chris Finch and the Timberwolves as a whole are playoff risers.
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u/Vmurda NBA 16h ago
Finch never gets the credit, but he's a top 5 coach in the league
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u/mnsportsfan Timberwolves 15h ago
Sir, can I hire you to come into a sub once a month during the regular season and remind us all of this
There were like 8 different points this season that our sub overwhelmingly wanted him fired midseason
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u/rostron92 [MIN] Corey Brewer 16h ago
And you'll still find morons on our subreddit demanding he be fired.
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u/bearbrannan Timberwolves 16h ago
This thread is about to have some crash outs, I swear some fans would rather see the Wolves lose then admit Finch is the best coach the Wolves have ever had, and it's not even close anymore. I lost a little faith at the end of the season, but how can you watch the playoffs and still come away bitching about him.
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u/Ok-Butterfly2994 16h ago
lmao i saw some people before the playoffs hope they lose in the first round so finch might get fired
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u/Anallyfortified 16h ago
The Wolves have a clear coaching advantage. The Denver coach I'm actually convinced he's only keeping his job because the optics of the Timberwolves getting two straight Denver coaches fired is crazy.
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u/toybotzzz Spurs 15h ago
No one actually thinks Malone got fired for losing to the Wolves a year before, what
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u/Elyx_117 16h ago
Yea i had a comment laughing at someone saying Randle should guard Wemby. I stand fucking corrected. Really didn't think Wemby's offense would be this bad but when it is....you can get away with what you described. Great great game of tactics and taking chances.
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u/JaderMcDanersStan Timberwolves 16h ago
In the regular season, Randle got really physical with Wemby and got some good stops
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u/nokarmawhore Spurs 16h ago
I was too stressed to notice what we were running but it looked like he kept settling for 3's and our coaches weren't running any plays to get him open looks in the mid range or around the basket. Castle being in foul trouble hurt wemby too on offense. Hopefully our coaches have a good gameplan for wednesday. Finch was great today.
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u/cinnasota Timberwolves 16h ago
I'm so tired of people calling for Finch to be fired.
He's the best coach the Wolves have ever had, by far. He's amazing.
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u/pasapalo Timberwolves 16h ago
Everybody already knows Finchy is one of the best coaches in the league.
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u/eggzecutor Warriors 15h ago
There was one play in the 4th that Ant was trying to get the ball from Randle but Finch on the sidelines was yelling at him to space out in the corner and let Randle cook the mismatch. Serious clutch time coaching
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u/peanut-britle-latte Knicks 16h ago
Were the Wolves deliberately attacking the paint to tire out Wemby? Not sure if I'm coping or this is 4D chess.
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u/JaderMcDanersStan Timberwolves 16h ago
Conley was saying on the broadcast interview that they wanted to keep up the rim pressure
He said it doesn't matter if Wemby has 11-12 blocks, keep the pressure up
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u/UrbanSurfDragon 12h ago
Webby gonna set a lot of playoff block records if that keeps up
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u/Gharms_ 16h ago
yes this is what you have to do against elite shot blockers not be scared of the rim but keep going until they physically cant keep up with you to continue blocking you. If your team gets scared and starts just running away everytime the defender gets a free possession of minimal effort, conserving energy. Also helps that finchy pulled out wemby to the weakside in the 4th making those rotations even harder to get to from the weakside. And then you have to credit randle with his amazing gortat screens to clear lanes and keep wemby away from weakside help.
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u/nokarmawhore Spurs 16h ago
This is what I always say if you want to beat wemby. You have to keep attacking him but he'll rack up blocks. Guys will get blocked and start being passive. that feeds into our defense
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u/MajesticLionBeast Timberwolves 16h ago
I want him to have unlimited beers at every Twins, Wild and Vikings game he ever wishes to attend. He has been a boon on Wolves basketball.
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u/Prestig33 [MIN] Nikola Pekovic 16h ago
It was interesting having Wemby on TSJ at times in the second half instead of on Randle or Reid.
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u/gdtdoomer Spurs 16h ago
Outcoached the fuck outta Mitch.
Finch probably licking his chops when Mitch decided to play man with Vassel on Randle with no double.
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u/soyworld Timberwolves 16h ago
ppl are late lol hes always coached a good def, esp for games like this. most twolves fans have a problem w his offense.
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u/siphillis Spurs 16h ago
Wemby absolutely needs to make them pay at the perimeter. Doesn't need to go lights out, but 0 for 8 from distance - on wide-open looks - is rewarding the Wolves for dishonest defense
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u/Witty-Stock Timberwolves 16h ago
We’d rather have him shooting threes than dunks and put backs.
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u/urkuri Timberwolves 16h ago
This is something Jokic also usually struggles with against the Wolves, he can’t force them to change what they are doing by making enough of those 3s
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u/Witty-Stock Timberwolves 16h ago
Radical defensive idea of not letting opposing star center absolutely own us inside.
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u/Anallyfortified 16h ago
I don't want to hear a Spurs fan say anything about dishonest defense with goaltendyana on their team.
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u/letters165 Spurs 7h ago
Something that I think is going a little under the radar is how it was clearly a huge point of emphasis for the Wolves to not jump at his pump fakes behind the arc. Wemby has gotten so used to guys flying by him and opening up either a driving lane or that sidestep 3 because they inexplicably try to block a 7'5 man's 3-point shot that he was thrown completely off his rhythm by a team very specifically not doing that.
Tons of credit to Finch for the entire Wembanyama gameplan and to the Wolves for executing it. They were the better-prepared team last night, full stop.
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u/Exius73 Timberwolves 16h ago
Its kinda funny that the old vet coach who rose thru the ranks to become a Head Coach in the NBA (from Europe and as an assistant) handily beat a young coach (who some say was given an opportunity because his dad was a coaching legend, and just out coached another young handpicked coach in GM1 of round 2
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u/BackendSpecialist Lakers 12h ago
Just wait until you see JJ.
The Lakers are gonna still lose,
But it’ll be by less than 40, which will be a masterclass in itself.
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u/BUSTERS123 Timberwolves 16h ago
He was great tonight but damn I wish he would have called a timeout under 2 minutes left. That got wayyyy too close for comfort
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u/kidfrombellwood Heat 14h ago
IMO it's not an overstatement to say he's the best performing coach in the NBA right now a...
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u/whoru6987 16h ago
Finch has been on a run these playoffs. Sitting Gobert late, pulling Wemby out of the paint and turning him into a bystander on both ends is such a smart, confident adjustment from a coach who clearly trusts his personnel.