The Minnesota Timberwolves are one of the teams to take a backwards step this season.
In addition to a strong play-off run, the Minnesota Timberwolves finished third in the Western Conference with a .683 record.
This season they rank in 10th place with a .519 win rate, and have now lost two in a row, the latest defeat coming against the Warriors.
While much of the Timberwolves regression can be put down to the front-office decision to trade away Karl-Anthony Towns, there is a spotlight on Chris Finch’s coaching too.
Speaking after the loss against the Warriors, head coach Chris Finch was asked how the Minnesota Timberwolves can improve.
His response was quite simply, arguing they need to score more points. He said: “We gotta put the ball in the basket. That’s why we were down tonight. We weren’t down because of our defense.
“We weren’t down because we had a bunch of breakdowns. We just couldn’t make a shot.”
The response to Finch’s comments was less than positive, with Timberwolves fans feeling he needs to offer more.
One message read: “If the best he can offer is that the team needs to just score more, then maybe he’s not the right guy for the job. The myriad reasons for why we aren’t scoring more are what he is being asked to solve, and if he can’t address those, it’s time to find someone who can.”
Another pointed out: “Helps to have a coach who can create an offense that consistently gets his players good looks.”
And a third agreed: “You missed the shots because…….they were bad shots. No ball movement, no driving and kicking, no off ball motion…..it is pointing towards coaching and flawed team design more than anything.”
Another fan responded: “Cop out. Don’t let him off the hook. His offensive system is atrocious. Ball screen, Iso, rinse and repeat. Jack a late clock 3.”
A further response mocked: “Wow, I never realized the issue was that the wolves couldn’t hit shots! Incredible.”
An angry fan added: “He does nothing to help the offense and just tells his players “put the ball in the basket” what a joke.”
“No accountability. Finch is far from being a decent coach,” another wrote, while one more fan added: “This is a man that has no answers.”
The two top scorers for the Timberwolves against the Warriors were Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo with 19 each.
Up next they face the Atlanta Hawks, followed by the Dallas Mavericks on Christmas Day.
They will have to improve to avoid their 14-13 record quickly dissolving into a losing record, where the pressure on Chris Finch will grow further.
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