Is Chris Finch Holding Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves Back?

Yahoo

2 days ago

The Minnesota Timberwolves lost game four of the Western Conference Finals, 128-126, to the Oklahoma City Thunder. They kept the game close by shooting 52% from the field and 44% from deep. Minnesota's bench had by far the best game in these playoffs, popping off for 64 points, including 12-of-20 from three point land.
But when you turn the ball over 21 times, allow 19 offensive rebounds and 38 points in the fourth quarter, not even 23 points from Nickeil Alexander-Walker, 21 from Donte DiVincenzo or 22 more from Jaden McDaniels can save you.
Advertisement
Had Minnesota's role players not shot out of their minds, the Wolves might have lost by 20. Because the plan Oklahoma City had for Anthony Edwards rendered him mostly non-existent in game four, the second time in this series the Thunder have been able to shut Ant down.
Anthony Edwards comes up short for the Minnesota Timberwolves again…
Oklahoma City let their guard down in game three and Edwards went off for 30 pts on 71% shooting. In game four, the Thunder clamped back down and the supposed superstar responded with one of the more underwhelming playoff performances of his young career, finishing with 16 points on just 13 shots. When the game was on the line, he deferred.
Anthony Edwards
(WCF vs OKC)
Att
FG%
3PT (%)
Pts
Reb
Ast
TO
+/-
Game 1
13
39%
3/8 (38%)
18
9
3
4
-23
Game 2
26
46%
1/9 (11%)
32
9
6
0
-22
Game 3
17
71%
5/8 (63%)
30
9
6
4
+36
Game 4
13
39%
1/7 (14%)
16
4
6
5
-3
The NBA's leading three point shooter in 2024-25 regular season went 1-of-7 from deep, to go along with 6 rebounds and 4 assists. On a night when the Minnesota Timberwolves needed their superstar to be a superstar… he was relegated mostly to a facilitator who struggled to find his shot.
Advertisement
OKC's suffocating defense was up in Anthony Edwards' business every time he touched the basketball, defending with intensity and physicality that left him feeling uncomfortable all night. It's a style of defense that Ant has struggled with throughout his career.
After the game, we once again got to hear Edwards tell reporters how helpless he felt throughout the evening, a theme we have heard way too often during postgame interviews these playoffs.
When asked about the struggle Ant faced getting to his spots, the 23-year-old budding superstar laughed off any notion that he could've made a bigger impact in the game four scoring column.
'I don't look at like I struggled or [Julius Randle] struggled. They just… they had a good gameplan, making us get off the ball, especially me, man. They was super in gaps, I made the right play all night so I don't really look at it like I struggled. I didn't get enough shots to say I struggled. So that's my opinion. That might be how you guys look at it, but yeah, I didn't struggle at all, I was just making the right play.'
Anthony Edwards on how he *didn't* struggle in game four
Advertisement
On Saturday night, Edwards' early focus and sense of urgency lit the Target Center crowd on fire and locked in his teammates mentally for the next three quarters of a game that they eventually won by 40 points. But that killer Ant we saw take over Saturday night right from tip, flying around and making plays on both sides of the floor… was non-existent.
Sure, Anthony Edwards made the right decisions. He tried to get downhill and find the rim but the OKC defense was determined to suffocate him. They know that the key to killing the playoff Timberwolves is stopping Ant-Man. If he goes off, you will lose. But for whatever reason, when teams decide to lock in on Edwards, they've been able to tame his production and force the Wolves to win in other ways.
Against lesser opponents, like the Lakers in round one and the Steph Curry-less Warriors in round two, Minnesota had plenty of firepower to do just that. But against a team like OKC, relying on secondary stars and role players to win games is not a formula that breeds success, something we are finding out the hard way in the Western Conference Finals.
Is Chris Finch the Minnesota Timberwolves' playoff problem?
So what is the problem? Because Ant isn't the NBA's first superstar. Michael Jordan won six NBA Finals with the entire league trying to stop him. Before him, everyone was trying to slow down Magic, Bird, Russell, Kareem, etc. After MJ, they couldn't stop Kobe, LeBron, Steph…
Advertisement
Well, maybe it's time we look harder at Chris Finch. Yes, the Minnesota Timberwolves head coach is beloved by his players, including Ant. Finchy — who is 369-209 (.566) in his five years leading the Wolves — along with president of basketball operations, Tim Connelly, have taken this franchise to places we never really dreamed of, including two-straight West Finals appearances.
Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
But is Chris Finch the right guy, going forward? Because he is showing a lot of warts this postseason, especially when it comes to unlocking his superstar. And while there is plenty of blame to go around, it's Finch's responsibility to get the best out of Anthony Edwards, something he has not been able to do consistently.
Finch likes a free-flowing offense, with little structure. That's fine… when it works. But in the playoffs, structure often wins games. Hunting matchups, using screens to force switching defenses into the matchups you want, then executing, in order to capitalize on whatever advantage you are trying to create.
Advertisement
That's how teams win in the NBA Playoffs. That's how good coaches get their best players in space, when the opponent's sole goal is to stop that from happening. And the Wolves are not doing it, mostly because it seems foreign to them… and because Chris Finch hates it.
I thought this analysis from Dane Moore after game two really highlights what the Minnesota Timberwolves are missing in this series and why Chris Finch's offensive style has become a problem.
That's not how Ant approaches [offense] and he has a coach that doesn't ask him to play a structured style of play and never has. And that's cool, and it's [worked at times]. But [their casual style] is illuminated against a team like this that plays very sharp. Shai is very directive, and you know what it is [that he wants to do].
I feel like this series is exposing that gear of structure that this Wolves team has never had. Intentionally, since Rudy Gobert got here, they've never been like, 'we're going to be a team that runs pick and roll here'. They don't because Finch hates that. He hates the the homogenization, or whatever of it. He doesn't want to do that.
If the series goes down in a similar pattern, to how it has gone, it doesn't make the offense that [the Wolves] have, and the flow-based concept system a bad idea. But to me, it would be nice if you had another gear where you could be much a little bit more robotic offensively. I know that sounds bad but they don't have that.
Dane Moore – The Dane Moore NBA Podcast
Chris Finch is already the winningest playoff coach in Wolves history (21 playoff wins), recently surpassing the late Flip Saunders (17 playoff wins). From the outside looking in, firing Finchy may seem asinine. But is it really? Because NBA history says otherwise.
The Best teams in NBA history needed a coaching change
Many of the greatest teams in NBA history needed a coaching change before they were able to take the next step, and that is especially true when it comes to great player-coach combos. The Chicago Bulls hired Doug Collins, going into Michael Jordan's third year in the league.
Advertisement
Collins led the Bulls to the East Semis in 1988, where they fell to the Detroit Pistons in five games. Then, in 1989, Chicago made it to the Eastern Conference Finals, before falling to the Pistons yet again, this time in six games.
That offseason, Collins was fired and replaced with Phil Jackson, who had been an assistant in Chicago, prior to his promotion. Two years later, the Bulls won their first ever NBA Championship. Eight years later, they had won six total. Michael admitted that he was not happy with the move when it was first made.
Fast-forward a decade, a young Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal are winning 60 games per season for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1996-1999, under head coach Del Harris. Unfortunately, he was canned in the middle of the 1998-99 season, after the Lakers underperformed in the playoffs and failed to make it out of the West.
Advertisement
Enter Phil Jackson for the 1999-2000 season, where the Lakers go onto win their first of three-straight championships. Want more? How about we stay out west this time? In 2014, the Steph Curry-led Golden State Warriors are eliminated from their second-straight playoffs under third-year head coach Mark Jackson.
Related: Time for Anthony Edwards to Earn His NBA Superstar Label
That offseason, he is fired and replaced with Steve Kerr. Much of the NBA is furious. One year later, Golden State wins their first NBA championship, then proceeds to play in the next four NBA Finals after that, winning three total rings in five appearances from 2015-2019.
So, before you wave off the idea that Chris Finch is the Minnesota Timberwolves' biggest playoff problem, open up your mind. Because this wouldn't be the first time a really good team has needed a coaching change, in order to become great.
And whether it happens or not, Tim Connelly should be carefully combing through all options to improve this team next season, and that includes head coach.