Throughout the season, Chris Finch has been the most divisive person among Minnesota Timberwolves fans. I'll be honest -- at the beginning of the year, I defended Finch, but as time goes on, I have switched sides and think a divorce could be coming. After an embarrassing loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, Rudy Gobert called his teammates out for a lack of effort and said that players should be benched if they aren't displaying effort.
What followed was Finch saying that Gobert should have kept those comments in-house. Then two days later, on Sunday, the Wolves once again lost in embarrassing fashion, this time it was a 115-96 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. And once again, the Wolves' energy and defensive engagement were lackluster.
To me, there are plenty of signs of disconnect between the players and Finch. Frankly, when this point is reached, the only solution might be parting ways with Finch.
Now, will the Timberwolves fire Finch Michael Malone style, before the end of the year? While I wouldn't entirely rule it out, it doesn't seem like a move this organization would make. Still, if the Wolves underwhelm in the playoffs, I do expect there to be a coaching change.
Finch seems to be causing problems for the Wolves
In my eyes, the most important part of an NBA coach's job is keeping the team happy. And there's a clear reason to believe Finch isn't doing that right now. The team looks disconnected on the court, and their comments reflect that.
Based on Finch's media comments (and sub patterns), I think one of the biggest issues is special treatment. This involves some speculation, but there's a fair amount of evidence to back this up.
Contrary to what he said to the media on Saturday, Finch feels perfectly fine calling out certain players. After Friday's game, he mentioned that he wasn't impressed with Rudy's game. He's beenopenly critical of Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, and others throughout the season. Yet this isn't something we see him do with Julius Randle.
It's easy to connect the dots and suggest that Gobert was discussing the lack of effort from Anthony Edwards and Randle, which has been a problem all year. Gobert is often benched for his lack of offense, and he typically handles well. However, when Randle's poor defense impacts the team negatively, he's never benched or openly criticized after the game.
I get that each player has a different coaching style that they respond to, but this is a clear double standard.
It's also fair to suggest that the lack of effort from Edwards and Randle is connected to Finch. Either he needs to hold his stars more accountable, or he's lost his voice in the locker room.
Beyond this, Finch has some clear X's-and-O's issues. His offense lacks structure, which he's openly admitted needs to be addressed. The Wolves' frequent late-game collapses are partly on Finch's lack of offensive structure and poor timeout management.
By all accounts, Finch is the franchise's most successful coach, and moving on from him would be a massive change. However, there might be no avoiding this move if the team is as disconnected as they appear to be on the court and when speaking to the media.
Maybe things will get back on track soon, after all, this team has plenty of continuity. But if not, a coaching change (likely in the offseason) might be the Wolves' best option.