Timberwolves: Should Chris Finch win Coach of the Year?
The Minnesota Timberwolves are in the midst of their second-best season in the last decade and a half, and a huge reason for this success is head coach Chris Finch.
The Timberwolves fired Ryan Saunders on Feb. 21, 2021. He seemed like a great guy, and everyone wanted him to succeed, but his record proved he just wasn’t the right fit for the head coaching position.
Minnesota caught a lot of flak for hiring Finch. Not only did they hire him midseason, but many thought David Vanterpool, who was already on the bench, should have been promoted to the position of head coach.
The hiring committee decided Vanterpool just wasn’t the right guy for the job, since he was brought in to fix the defense and hadn’t yet succeeded in that task – the Timberwolves were one of the worst-ranked teams on that end of the floor at the time Finch was hired. By just those facts alone, that is not enough to make him the head guy in charge.
Here’s where I got lost during the whole situation:
Why send Saunders on the trip to New York when you already plan on firing him? Especially since he was expecting a baby at any moment. Why not just fire him, and allow him to be there for his family?
Other than that, I didn’t have any issues with hiring Finch.
He’s the right guy for the job, and I’m glad Minnesota was able to hire him. If they waited till the offseason, it’s less likely he comes to the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
Finch is a top-10 coach in the NBA and the best head coach in Timberwolves franchise history. It’s only been 116 games, but he already has a record above .500 (59-57). Despite being a new face midseason, Finch was able to turn things around, even though he wasn’t able to fully implement his playbook.
There are a few reasons he’s the best coach for this team. For one, he’s a genius offensively and defensively.
He’s also a players coach, but not like Saunders was. Finch allows everyone to feel empowered, but he has the authority and respect to overrule anything.
A couple of weeks ago, the players wanted to do more switching on defense, and Finch allowed that. However, that didn’t work and he took it away.
It’s the perfect blend of authority and empowerment.
With a full offseason, Finch was able to start fresh. This season Minnesota is 43-32 and seventh in the Western Conference. We all believed that this team would perform better than the Vegas odds, but no one expected them to be 11 games over .500.
Minnesota also has the 12th best record in the NBA.
If you would have told me the Wolves would have a better record than the Brooklyn Nets, I would have said you’re crazy. But here we are.
Finch is a huge reason for this massive turnaround. This team has a lot of talent and good players, but they’d probably be hovering around Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans territory had they not hired him.
Last season, the Timberwolves record was 23-49 (+20-win difference). Even though last season was cut short to 72 games, this roster is 10x better than what was on the floor last year.
Finch has ultimately changed the trajectory of this franchise, but he won’t win coach of the year. There are plenty of other great candidates around the league that will likely finish higher than him in the voting.
No one expected the Cleveland Cavaliers to have the season they’re having or even the Memphis Grizzlies. The Phoenix Suns are rolling, and Monty Williams looks like the front-runner to win the award
My Coach of the Year list:
- Monty Williams
- Taylor Jenkins
- Erik Spoelstra
- J.B. Bickerstaff
- Chris Finch
- Ime Udoka
- Michael Malone
- Tyronn Lue
- Billy Donovan
- Doc Rivers
Let me know who you have winning the award in the comment section below.
Finch will get some votes for Coach of the Year, but Williams will ultimately win the award. Let’s just enjoy the fact that the Timberwolves have a great head coach and team.
