Through 20 games, the Minnesota Timberwolves hold a 12-8 record. While the Wolves have now won two straight games, the early season has been fairly unwhelming, highlighted by three consecutive clutch time meltdowns. Given this, head coach Chris Finch has become a controversial figure among Timberwolves fans.
Admittedly, I'm on the fence with Finch. Overall, I think he's a really solid coach. However, there's no doubt some of the late-game issues fall on him, especially his lack of structured offense and timeout management. On the positive side, though, I have to respect Finch's willingness to ride with whatever lineup is producing the best.
Sunday's win over the San Antonio Spurs is the perfect example of that. The Timberwolves pulled off a 125-112 win. Nevertheless, a win wasn't always a guarantee as the Wolves trailed by one at halftime. One big change for the Wolves in the second half was not playing Rudy Gobert a ton. He played just under seven minutes in the second half. Moreover, the Wolves closed the game on a 55-35 run without him.
Gobert is an essential player to the Wolves' success, especially on defense. He is also the team's second-highest-paid player. Benching him for much of the second half, including the entire fourth quarter, isn't an easy decision, and one I'm sure many coaches wouldn't have made. However, Finch doesn't care about making the easy or popular decisions; he cares about making the decisions that lead to winning.
Finch's rotations helped the Wolves win on Sunday
Benching Gobert likely isn't something we'll see regularly; his defense is just too important. Regardless, this simply wasn't his night. In a game where the Wolves won by 13, Gobert was a minus-8. Going to Julius Randle and Naz Reid more in the second half gave the Wolves a much-needed shooting boost. This allowed them to go five-out, which proved to be the perfect recipe against the Victor Wembanyama-less Spurs.
The five-man lineup of Anthony Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo, Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle, and Naz Reid was especially effective. Randle was empowered as a playmaker, racking up 12 assists, including seven in the fourth quarter. While Edwards still led the way with 32 points overall.
With Randle and Reid on the court Sunday night, the Wolves posted a 151.3 offensive rating and a 100 defensive rating! Perhaps it was because Wembanyama was hurt, leaving Luke Kornet and Kelly Olynyk as the Spurs' lone centers, but this duo performed better than they had all season defensively. Overall, going small in the second half allowed the Wolves to match up better with the Spurs.
Gobert will still likely close games for the Wolves
After the game, Finch explained his strategy and made it clear that this is unlikely to be the norm.
"We've always said we're gonna play the lineups that work, Finch said. And 90% of those times Rudy is driving great defense and a lot of good things... Rudy has played a ton of basketball. He'll be fine. He's happy the team won -- and that's the most important thing."
In my eyes, this is the exact mindset a coach should have. You need to be willing to try different lineup combinations and stick with what works for that given game. Some games might not be ideal for Rudy to close. Most games, it will be, though.
It's a bit different, but Finch tweaking the starting lineup just hours before the start of the season is another example of him being willing to try different things.
All in all, Finch isn't afraid to make bold moves to put his team in a better position to win, and that's something I greatly respect about him.