Chris Finch is a divisive figure among Minnesota Timberwolves fans. Outside of his role in the Wolves' constant late-game collapses, Finch's sub patterns have been a key point of contention among Wolves fans. In all fairness, I think most fans don't love their coaches' sub patterns. Thankfully, though, Finch has fixed this in recent games, staggering Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle so one of the stars is always on the court.
This might seem like a simple change, but it's undoubtedly an impactful one. It's not exactly breaking news to say that you should always keep at least one of your stars on the court, and many teams stagger their stars. Let's put this into perspective, though. Per PBP stats, the Wolves have an offensive rating of 123.44 with Ant and Randle on the court, which translates to the second-best mark in the league, and 104.33 ORTG without them, which translates to the worst mark in the league.
In the past three games, Minnesota has had just 15 minutes without Randle and Edwards. Before this stretch, though, the Wolves averaged 9.1 minutes per game without this duo. Finch's strategy has been pretty simple; Randle has typically started the second and fourth quarter while Edwards remains on the bench.
Again, this might seem like a minor change, but it's highly impactful.
Staggering Edwards and Randle is beneficial for the Wolves
Besides the obvious of maintaining an elite offense and always having a star on the court, this change benefits Randle in a massive way. This isn't to say that Randle and Edwards can't co-exist together. The Edwards-Randle duo has a 123.44 ORTG and an 8.52 net rating via PBP stats.
Randle's blend of shot creation and playmaking makes him an ideal complement to Ant. At the same time, the Wolves are able to play a different style with only Randle on the court. Most notably, they can run more actions with him as a high-post playmaking hub. This gives the Wolves an extra layer of versatility and, of course, allows their offense to stay afloat without Ant.
Big Ju is more than capable of carrying the offense when Edwards sits. Impressively, the Wolves post a 120.36 ORTG in these minutes and a plus-11.65 net rating in these minutes. While the main advantage of this adjustment for the Wolves is maintaining a high level of offense, Randle being able to play his game is another advantage.
Overall, staggering Randle's and Edwards' minutes benefits the Timberwolves in multiple ways. I'm sure all Wolves fans would like to see this trend continue.