Wolves vs Bucks GDT: Coach Finch's Debut

[Jester1534]

Fire Childress!!! Whoops wrong 2010 thread.

[Lipoli390]

I would love to know what the next highest bid for Hernangomez would have been if Minnesota hadn't signed him for what they did.

Lol. Cam, you don't want to know. If you knew, you'd be even more pissed to the point where your head explodes. I know mine would because I suspect that the next highest bid, if there even was a bid, was close to the minimum.

[FNG]

I don't know...I'm not going to take too much from this lopsided loss. It was the first unwatchable game in February and the first double digit loss of the month after a series of tight games. But it was the first game with a new coach, and I expected some confusion...well, we certainly got that. Ugliest game in a long time, although in all fairness some of the blowout was due to some ridiculously hot shooting by the Bucks. We don't win tonight even if Pop is coaching. A few positives, even in an ugly game like this.

1) It was good to see Karl work to get the ball on offense, and a lot of good things happened when he got involved. 26 points and 8 assists despite a poor 3-point shooting night. I really think Finch is going to be effective in getting Karl more involved.

2) Both PGs moved the ball well and also seemed to be focusing on getting the ball to KAT. J-Mac gets in trouble sometimes when he dribbles under the basket because he is so small, especially when he tries to get a shot off through the trees, but overall I liked the play from our PGs. I don't think Finch is going to be unhappy with 21/10/7 with only 2 TOs.

3) After a couple games where Beasley was hounded into ineffective shooting nights, it was good to see him get some open looks outside the arc and knock down the shots. I thought he let the offense come to him tonight and didn't force things. A really nice 6-9 on threes.

4) While Jaden was mostly invisible on offense, I continue to marvel at his defensive footwork and help defense. Giannis is a tough cover for anyone and not many PFs are going to stop him when he is focused
and hot like he was tonight. But I liked how Jaden battled all night and didn't seem intimidated. I expect Finch will have him as his starting PF soon.

5) Nice to see Nowell's shot return. He needs to keep knocking down shots like he did tonight if he is going to remain in the rotation when Culver returns.

Oddly enough in a 27 point loss, there weren't as many things I didn't like. But the three big negatives...Ant's continuing poor shooting and all-around play, bad substitutions at PF in the 2nd quarter, and awful bench shooting...were enough to ensure a blowout.

1) Culver cannot come back soon enough for me to replace Ant in the starting lineup. Ant's best shooting night in the past four games was 27%, and he was 3-13 tonight...that's not going to cut it, especially when he is also so ineffective on defense. Edwards has enormous upside, but he is not a starting caliber SF right now on either side of the ball. Let him come off the bench to try to find his shot for some bench scoring. Currently his game is broken.

2) I know there is demand here for a KAT/Reid pairing, but I'm sure we can all agree it was a disaster tonight. Naz came into a competitive game with about 6 1/2 minutes left in the 2nd quarter and the Wolves down just 3. The next three minutes of basketball were perhaps the worst the Wolves have looked this season on both ends of the court...no flow on offense, and everyone looking lost on defense. There were times when I honestly couldn't tell if we were in a zone or MTM...it was that disorganized. When Finch thankfully subbed Naz out about 3 minutes later, the 3-point deficit had ballooned to 12 and the wind was totally out of our sails. Unfortunately, he subbed JO in for Naz at PF, and the bleeding continued. That stretch with Naz and JO at PF essentially ended the game.

3) The bench has been solid much of this season, but except for Nowell, nobody could buy a bucket tonight. Other than Nowell, our bench was 9-30. Just can't happen.

But like I said, this was a transition game and I'm not going to take much from it. We don't even know who was dictating the rotations...very likely it was the assistant coaches due to Finch's unfamiliarity with the players. Not fun to watch at all tonight, but hopefully not indicative if what lies ahead after Finch gets a chance to actually practice with this roster.

[kekgeek]

The Chris Finch Effect...

Pace -- 106 possessions (3rd highest of the season)

3ptrs -- 54 3PTA (franchise-record)

KAT -- 26 PTS 11 ASTS = 57 points created (season-high)

[thedoper]

The Chris Finch Effect...

Pace -- 106 possessions (3rd highest of the season)

3ptrs -- 54 3PTA (franchise-record)

KAT -- 26 PTS 11 ASTS = 57 points created (season-high)

Dane Moore was talking about how pace was going to be his approach on offense. We will get more output but with our transition D I have a hard time thinking we will be very competitive for the rest of this year.

[Wolvesfan21]

I think if there is one team you can't play fast against it's the Bucks. With Giannis going down hill and all the three point shooters it makes for what we saw. Part of it of course was we got behind so big so you just try and shoot your way back into it with quicker offense.

I don't think the defense was real bad, it was bad because Giannis just dominated physically but also they simply were hot. Most of our guys are twigs that simply cannot match up at all.

It'll be interesting to see if our offense takes a jump over the long run with KAT making progress as a focus of the offense. I think it's reasonable that it'll take time to adjust. I just want to see some progress over the rest of the season.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

The Chris Finch Effect...

Pace -- 106 possessions (3rd highest of the season)

3ptrs -- 54 3PTA (franchise-record)

KAT -- 26 PTS 11 ASTS = 57 points created (season-high)

....and another effect was a blowout loss. Again, the faster you play against superior teams, the more chances they have to impose their superiority, therefore leading to more blowouts.

We simply don't have the talent to play fast. It sounds good on paper, but I don't see how it leads to more winning.

By no means am I clamoring for Ryan Saunders to be back already - he deserved to be fired. But I will continue to be skeptical of Finch or any other coach that puts system or style of play over winning, especially a system that doesn't suit the personnel. Wait until DLO gets back. He practically sleep walks through most games. Do you think he'll get the "play faster" message?

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

The Chris Finch Effect...

Pace -- 106 possessions (3rd highest of the season)

3ptrs -- 54 3PTA (franchise-record)

KAT -- 26 PTS 11 ASTS = 57 points created (season-high)

....and another effect was a blowout loss. Again, the faster you play against superior teams, the more chances they have to impose their superiority, therefore leading to more blowouts.

We simply don't have the talent to play fast. It sounds good on paper, but I don't see how it leads to more winning.

By no means am I clamoring for Ryan Saunders to be back already - he deserved to be fired. But I will continue to be skeptical of Finch or any other coach that puts system or style of play over winning, especially a system that doesn't suit the personnel. Wait until DLO gets back. He practically sleep walks through most games. Do you think he'll get the "play faster" message?

It's worth mentioning that the 2018-19 Brooklyn Nets were 11th in pace that year with their best player being D'Angelo Russell. I don't think it's the best utilization of D-Lo's game as he's likely better off playing a slower, more methodical, half-court game, but he's been part of a team that played fast and had relative success doing so. Add this to any number of reasons why hiring Kenny Atkinson to coach this group was a very intriguing idea.

[FNG]

The Chris Finch Effect...

Pace -- 106 possessions (3rd highest of the season)

3ptrs -- 54 3PTA (franchise-record)

KAT -- 26 PTS 11 ASTS = 57 points created (season-high)

....and another effect was a blowout loss. Again, the faster you play against superior teams, the more chances they have to impose their superiority, therefore leading to more blowouts.

We simply don't have the talent to play fast. It sounds good on paper, but I don't see how it leads to more winning.

By no means am I clamoring for Ryan Saunders to be back already - he deserved to be fired. But I will continue to be skeptical of Finch or any other coach that puts system or style of play over winning, especially a system that doesn't suit the personnel. Wait until DLO gets back. He practically sleep walks through most games. Do you think he'll get the "play faster" message?

True on all accounts, Q. Much of our increased pace and 3-point attempts was due to Ant jacking up (and missing) three's too early in the shot clock. We also had more possessions because our poor transition defense led to quick Bucks scores...not a good reason to celebrate more offensive possessions for us. While I like hearing Finch emphasize faster pace because we do have some young athletes who might thrive in that system (and some, of course, who won't), I don't think early shots by Ant and poor defense were what he had in mind.

I also scratched my head thinking of DLO when Finch was talking about faster pace. If DLO comes back (and despite the 4-6 weeks the always reliable Wolves medical staff predicted, I believe he was out 8 weeks last time he had identical surgery...is a non playoff team really going to rush a player back?), faster pace does not define his preferred style of play. He prefers to jab and probe in the lane looking for an opening to shoot or pass, often very effectively, and uses much of the shot clock much of the time...not at all consistent with a face pace philosophy. I wondered at the time...does Finch think he can change DLO's style, or does he plan to continue to put the ball in Rubio's and J-Mac's hands and try to employ DLO's shooting and scoring prowess more off the ball? This of course would be my preference, because it also would allow Beasley to provide instant offense off the bench (have you noted how effective he was last night playing with reserves?)

I guess we'll have to see...if not this year, than certainly next. Meanwhile, I think we can all agree that "fast pace" was not a winning strategy last night. Let's see if it is more effective against a small and not as good Bulls team tonight.

[Wolvesfan21]

The Chris Finch Effect...

Pace -- 106 possessions (3rd highest of the season)

3ptrs -- 54 3PTA (franchise-record)

KAT -- 26 PTS 11 ASTS = 57 points created (season-high)

....and another effect was a blowout loss. Again, the faster you play against superior teams, the more chances they have to impose their superiority, therefore leading to more blowouts.

We simply don't have the talent to play fast. It sounds good on paper, but I don't see how it leads to more winning.

By no means am I clamoring for Ryan Saunders to be back already - he deserved to be fired. But I will continue to be skeptical of Finch or any other coach that puts system or style of play over winning, especially a system that doesn't suit the personnel. Wait until DLO gets back. He practically sleep walks through most games. Do you think he'll get the "play faster" message?

It's worth mentioning that the 2018-19 Brooklyn Nets were 11th in pace that year with their best player being D'Angelo Russell. I don't think it's the best utilization of D-Lo's game as he's likely better off playing a slower, more methodical, half-court game, but he's been part of a team that played fast and had relative success doing so. Add this to any number of reasons why hiring Kenny Atkinson to coach this group was a very intriguing idea.

We've seen flashes where DLO looked incredible passing the ball, but the consistency is the issue. Not to make an excuse for DLO but as soon as KAT went down we started piling on the losses and so did DLO and his game I think.

Players should be giving full effort night in and out, but that is rare and not every player can do that. Superstars generally bring it every night, which is why they win. I would say it was super rare to see Jordan for instance have lackluster game because of effort or intensity. Winning mattered too much to him. You had to come with your best effort to beat a Jordan Bulls team. Jordan has no regrets because of effort, thats for sure.

DLO seems to me to not value winning as much as he should. Same with another former Wolf like Wiggins. That's the feeling I get watching them anyways. Now not many players in history played as competitively as a Joran or a Russell Westbrook, but man you got to have some fire if you want to win in this league. Because other guys do. I think Westbrooks entire career was built on effort and determination. He was never a good shooter even, but he had good success still.