While with the Minnesota Timberwolves, head coach Chris Finch has called out his fair share of players that he coaches. It was just earlier in the playoffs when he made some brutally honest comments about Terrence Shannon Jr.’s defense.Â
One player who seems to have immunity from Finch’s criticisms is Julius Randle. In Sunday’s Game 4 win, the three-time All-Star turned the ball over six times. When asked about that after the game, Finch said,Â
“We were probably just trying to play too fast…maybe playing in a crowd a little too much. He was doing a good job of drawing the crowd. He found Mike a couple times, that was great. But then they swarm you so fast that you've got to be off of it quick."
It seems like Finch did his best not to place the blame on Julius, which has been a common theme. Throughout the season, Finch has openly criticized Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert, and Jaden McDaniels. However, Randle has avoided criticism on nearly every occasion, and this has annoyed Wolves fans.
This, paired with Finch continuing to play Randle heavy minutes even on nights when he struggles and his significant role in the offense, has further frustrated Wolves fans. It's worth noting that Finch has advocated for Randle since he arrived via trade, and the two have a close relationship from their days with New Orleans.
Randle has struggled in the playoffs
Now, Randle did play nine minutes in the fourth quarter without turning the ball over. Still, six turnovers are six turnovers regardless of when it happens.
Inexplicably, three of those giveaways occurred in the last two minutes of the second quarter. All of them saw Randle get stripped, and two led to baskets on the other end for the San Antonio Spurs. It wasn't a great way for the Timberwolves to have momentum on their side at the halftime break, although they did lead by four points.
At the start of the third quarter, Randle grabbed the ball off a Rudy Gobert blocked shot. He tried to hit a streaking Anthony Edwards, but Julian Champagnie fairly easily picked off the pass and drove down the floor for a made runner in the lane.
Last postseason, Randle was able to somewhat quell the narrative around him that he doesn’t perform well in the playoffs.
He had strong performances against both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors. This year, those talks regarding Randle have returned. Not only is the 31-year-old shooting just 40.8 percent from the field, but he has more turnovers (34) than assists (32).
During the regular season this year, Randle totaled 398 assists to 217 turnovers. In his two years playing in the playoffs with the New York Knicks, he turned the ball over 58 times compared to dishing it out for 56 assists.
Finch knows his players, and he has done a wonderful job coaching in this current playoff run. Randle has been known as a mercurial player throughout his career. Perhaps Finch fears losing him by calling him out in the media, but there's no denying fans are frustrated by his inability to call out Randle publicly.
Given how bad Randle is playing and that every other player would likely be called out by Finch during a stretch like this, these frustrations are understandable.
Regardless of how he’s playing, Minnesota is still tied 2-2 in their Western Conference semifinals matchup.
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