Chris Finch was visibly frustrated in his post-game press conference after the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 128-125 loss to the 10-31 Charlotte Hornets on Monday, and for good reason. The Timberwolves were up 107-92 going into the 4th quarter and blew the lead, even though the Hornets had two of their better players, Gordon Hayward and Mark Williams, out with injuries. Not only did Minnesota’s offense collapse, scoring only 18 points in the quarter, but they gave up double that to the Hornets, who scored 36.
When a reporter asked Finch how the game slipped away from them, he expressed his frustration on no uncertain terms: “It was an absolutely disgusting performance of defense and immature basketball all the way through the game. So it really didn’t slip away; it had been there from the jump. This is what happens when you have this type of approach.”
Finch was correct that the defense and the players’ approach to the game felt wrong from the beginning. He was also right to question the team’s maturity and effort. On Saturday, the Timberwolves allowed 102 points to the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team tied for the fourth-best offensive rating in the NBA (119.8) that has a bonafide MVP candidate in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Despite that, the Wolves gave up 128 points to the Hornets, who have the fourth-worst offensive rating in the league (109.6).
They gave up 32 or more points in three of the four quarters of the Charlotte game, which is uncharacteristic of Minnesota’s defense. The Wolves have only given up 120 points or more to an opponent nine times this season. Furthermore, every other team they’ve given up over 120 points to is well over .500 and has a top-12 offensive rating. The only exception is the Atlanta Hawks, who have a ton of offensive talent despite their struggles to get wins this year. Atlanta ranks 14th in the NBA in offensive rating at 116.4, only 0.1 behind the Sacramento Kings.
That is to say that it’s fair for Finch to criticize Minnesota’s defensive effort and call the performance “immature.” They usually make things difficult on even the best opposing offenses in the NBA, yet things looked easy last night for one of the worst offenses. Finch also suggests that the lack of defensive effort was there all game. Even though Karl-Anthony Towns had 44 points in the first half, the Wolves only went into halftime with a five-point lead. It seemed like because offense was coming so easy for the Wolves in the first half, especially for Towns, the team felt they didn’t need to lock in defensively to win.
Minnesota’s loss mainly resulted from an effort or “maturity” issue from the players. Therefore, it seems important to question what the coaching staff was trying to do to elicit a better effort from their players on a sleepy Monday night against one of the league’s worst teams. Especially considering that Finch claimed to have noticed the effort issue immediately. It’s part of a coach’s job to diagnose the team’s problems and adjust their strategies during the game.
Finch explained what he tried to do when reporter Jace Frederick asked, “How do you go about trying to right the ship when you see it’s like that?”
“We kept imploring them to try to compete and play some defense,” Finch responded, “switching back between man and zone, anything to contain the ball, get up on the shooters, [but] the messages weren’t getting through.”
It’s wise for a coach to switch defensive strategies when his defense is reeling. Not only might he find a strategy that works for him, but it can also help spark an increased level of effort when things aren’t working and players are getting down on themselves or the game. However, the change of strategy didn’t help the Wolves contain Charlotte’s guards, who were easily getting by Minnesota’s perimeter defenders all night. So, what other steps can you then take to find new solutions? That’s something Finch and his coaching staff didn’t seem to have an exact answer for in-game or during the press conference afterward.
Britt Robson asked Finch, “When you’re lacking the poise like that, is there any way to try to fix that during the game, or is this something now where tomorrow and the next day is where the hammer comes down really?”
“Well,” Finch responded, “the hammer has been brought down.” I assume this refers to something he said to the players in the locker room after the game. Or it could be Finch’s scathing remarks earlier in the press conference about Minnesota’s defensive performance. Finch then gives a sample of how he tried to motivate the team to focus in his halftime speech in the locker room. “Why don’t we start getting back to being who we are and play some defense,” he told them at halftime, “and not let this game fall down to a point where we miss a bunch of shots, and they make a bunch of shots, and then we’re behind.”
Finch didn’t directly answer the first half of Robson’s question with a ‘yes or no.’ However, he seemed to give his halftime speech anecdote as an example of how he tried to use his words to motivate the team. While the speech ultimately only worked for the third quarter, it seemed to have some immediate effect. The Timberwolves played their best defense of the game and allowed the fewest points in the third quarter while building their biggest lead. However, it wasn’t enough to keep them focused throughout the game. As Finch predicted, the Wolves stopped making shots, and the Hornets started making every shot. Suddenly, it became a disaster that was too late to stop.
I understand Finch’s frustration. Not only did he tell his team exactly what would happen if they didn’t give more effort, but it happened anyway. In my opinion, there’s only so much you can say to motivate a person or a team to put more effort in if they already feel like they have things under control and can win the game even if they don’t give maximum effort.
That’s probably why Finch says the team has maturity issues and why he said they “disrespected the game.” The team has an unearned arrogance that can make them think they had the game in hand when it never is in the NBA. That arrogance is a form of immaturity and can lead players to not listen to their coaching staff when trying to implore them to work harder. I would also guess that’s why Finch seems somewhat frustrated with the What more could you have done? line of questioning, even though reporters should be asking the coach that.
No team can roll the ball out and win the game. Some teams with the worst records play the hardest because the players want to prove they can win and deserve a contract. That seemed meaningful in Minnesota’s inability to beat bottom-feeding teams last year. They even lost to the full-on tanking Portland Trail Blazers in a game that was necessary to win to get out of the Play-in Tournament.
The Wolves have been much more mature this year. The Charlotte game is their first loss of the season against a bottom-three team in either conference. However, given how often they lost to sub-.500 teams last year, it seems fair to worry that Minnesota’s old bad habits may be finding their way back in.
Jon Krawczynski addressed this feeling in the press conference, asking, “Did you think that this team was beyond this kind of a game in terms of we’ve talked a lot about the more mature approach you’ve seen?”
Finch responded:
Nah, I mean, listen, it’s a long season, you’re gonna have bad games. I was hoping that we were beyond it, but you know until you go through it all you really can’t tell. We’ve been better and not had many of these types of performances. This is certainly a disappointing one, but we’ve got a lot of basketball left to play and that’s what our guys need to understand. We haven’t done a thing yet, we haven’t accomplished a thing yet. We’ve gotta play with a better desire, and better purpose, and a better readiness on every single night.
Finch also wasn’t afraid to admit that the team’s bad habits from last year could return, even though they’ve looked more mature this year. I appreciate that he can credit the team for their performance so far this season while also trying to remind them that every game requires maximum effort. Making the playoffs two years in a row doesn’t mean you’ve accomplished your goals. The ultimate goal of almost every NBA player, coach, and team is to win a championship. Even championship teams can’t come into a game assuming they can win without giving 100% effort, given the parity in the league. The coaching staff must continue to remind their team of that, especially given that the Wolves have a young core.
At the same time, I appreciate that Finch acknowledged that it is just one game. The Wolves have plenty of time to prove that they aren’t going to turn back into the team they were last year. Ultimately, that’s the best approach he can take. Finch should address all of Monday’s miscues while not panicking or taking away confidence from a team that has been in first place in the Western Conference for most of the year. Hopefully, the message gets through to the players over the next few days.
