Fans of the Minnesota Timberwolves have not been having a great time as of late. The Wolves have now dropped two straight contests in clutch situations, and that's waking many up to one crucial fact: that this team can't succeed under Chris Finch's coaching style as currently constructed.
That's largely due to how Finch coaches and what the Wolves' strengths are as a team right now. Those who have watched this team for years know what it's like to see a Chris Finch-coached team by now. He's going to give his guys the freedom to figure a lot of things out on their own, allow a certain level of autonomy and rarely make the kind of rash moves you might make just to shake things up. He believes in his process, and he wants to see it through to the end.
In some circumstances, we have certainly seen this work in Minnesota. Take last season as one of the best examples. Finch was confident that Julius Randle would gel with the rest of this group and find a role that fit him perfectly if they just kept plugging away, and that's exactly what ended up happening. Randle became a nightmare matchup by season's end, and the Wolves went to the conference finals for a second season in a row.
The Wolves' mental edge has to sharpen for Finch's coaching to work
But this season, the roster makeup is every so slightly different without Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and with Mike Conley another year older. Finch wants to keep trusting his guys to execute the game plan, but the results have been spotty at best so far this season. Minnesota lost on Friday in Phoenix despite leading by eight with 1:09 to go. Then on Monday, they dropped their contest in Sacramento in overtime after being up by 10 with 3:04 to go in regulation.
It's clear that in order for this group to succeed with Finch employing his more hands-off style, there's going to have to be a certain level of basketball IQ and decision-making that just doesn't seem to be present right now. This group is talented, but they can't seem to pull it together in the moments that matter most. Minnesota has typically been taking care of business against lower-level competition, but they're yet to defeat a team with a winning record this season.
This is the clear biggest thing that has to change for this team right now. Maybe the solution to this looks like bringing in a more stable option at point guard, maybe it looks like internal improvement, and maybe it looks like something else. But the Timberwolves aren't going to live up to their potential without addressing it.