It's time for the Timberwolves to have an uncomfortable Chris Finch conversation

The Minnesota Timberwolves now hold a 10-7 record and have had back-to-back late-game collapses, most recently on Monday night against the Sacramento Kings. Minnesota posts the highest clutch time turnover percentage and the 26th offensive rating in the clutch. It's certainly a concern that the Wolves have crumbled in the clutch and are 0-6 against above .500 teams so far this season. 

It would be foolish to overreact to this if these clutch time shortcomings were new. The problem is they aren't new. I personally blame players first and coaches second. However, the fact that these problems continue to occur under Chris Finch should be a real concern. Not all of these problems fall on Finch; he can't control some of the careless turnovers, but some of the offensive issues are tied to Finch.

Notably, in Finch's four full seasons, the Wolves have never ranked higher than 15th in clutch time net rating or 19th in clutch time offensive rating. This is despite ranking in the top 10 in net rating in three seasons under Finch and making two straight conference finals runs. Again, while the players need to perform better, Finch also needs to put them in a better position to succeed. 

I'm not saying that Finch is a bad coach, but since this problem keeps popping up, it's reasonable to have a conversation about his coaching being a factor.

Teams are quick to fire coaches if things aren't working

Finch is perhaps the most divisive figure among Wolves fans. Personally, I think he's a great coach, and by all accounts, he's the most successful coach in franchise history. He is an excellent culture builder and has been a key reason why the Wolves have had so much success in recent years. 

With that being said, the NBA is a very much a what have you done for me lately league. The Denver Nuggets fired Michael Malone less than two years removed from winning a championship. Heck, the New York Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau after he led the franchise to its first conference finals in 25 years. 

The point isn't that Finch could get fired tomorrow, but rather that he is not immune to the possibility of being fired if these issues continue. Maintaining a good relationship with the locker room is key. Frankly, I have no idea what the players think of Finch.

Regardless, what I do know is that if Finch is losing the locker room, Tim Connelly will part ways with him, and he won't shed any tears in the process.

It helps that the Timberwolves have one of the best assistant coaches in Micah Nori, ready to swoop in. This is all speculative, though. Finch is on the hot seat, but if these late-game struggles continue, he certainly will be. 

Finch has played a role in the Wolves' clutch time problems

Let's get back to what we do know, though. The Wolves' clutch time struggles have been a massive problem over the past few seasons under Finch. And since they've gone on for so long, Finch can't be blameless any longer. 

Late-game situations often consist of with heavy isolations. That's fine, but teams also need structure late in these games, and that's something Finch fails to provide. This is especially vital when the team is struggling to score on these isolation plays. 

The Wolves shot 29.7 percent from the field in overtime and the fourth quarter of Monday's game. Yet Finch continued to run isolations or basic high pick-and-rolls, likewise, for Friday's game against the Phoenix Suns, when the Wolves shot 9-for-21 in the fourth quarter. 

Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle are two of the best isolation players in the league, but a little variety and structured plays would greatly benefit the Wolves down the stretch of these games. Edwards shot eight of the Wolves' 13 clutch time shots. In a vacuum, I'm fine with that (especially since he scored all of the Wolves' clutch points), but Finch could have mixed things up to get him and other players better looks. 

The Wolves' lack of variety and structure is a problem in general, but especially down the stretch of games.

Finch has also been heavily criticized for his timeout management. This isn't as big an issue for me. However, not having a timeout at the end of the Suns game and not using it when there were 34 seconds left in the Kings game validates fans' gripe.   

Once again, to be clear, Finch isn't and shouldn't be on the hot seat yet. Nevertheless, if these problems keep happening, he certainly will be, and the Wolves will have a difficult decision to make.

Conversations about his late-game coaching should already be happening, though.