Finch Appreciation Thread

[Q-is-here]

I have found Finch to be one of the least interesting, least charismatic coaches around. I don't even know how to describe his coaching style. Does he have a family? A wife? Kids? I literally know nothing about the guy and there is nothing distinctive about him at all.

But guess what? None of that matters, as his purpose isn't to impress the NBA press corps or fans. Ant did a great job explaining why Finch is a great coach in the post-game presser:

"It starts with our head coach. He comes in every day, he gets to work, gets there early. He's thinking of ways to get me and KAT open looks; he's thinking of ways to get Mike and Rudy open looks; he's thinking of ways to get Jaden involved, he's trying to keep Naz in it to get him involved. He's just a great coach and he don't sugarcoat anything with anybody, like, if KAT f----- up he's going to get on KAT, if I'm f----- up he's going to get on me, if Rudy f----- up he's going to get on Rudy. He's going to get on anybody that is messing up throughout the game and I think that's what makes him the best coach in the NBA to me because no matter who it is, no matter how high the player is on the pole (raises his arm and hand up), he's going to get on you from start to finish and it starts with the head of the snake and he's the head of our snake."

[Carlos Danger]

I have found Finch to be one of the least interesting, least charismatic coaches around. I don't even know how to describe his coaching style. Does he have a family? A wife? Kids? I literally know nothing about the guy and there is nothing distinctive about him at all.

But guess what? None of that matters, as his purpose isn't to impress the NBA press corps or fans. Ant did a great job explaining why Finch is a great coach in the post-game presser:

"It starts with our head coach. He comes in every day, he gets to work, gets there early. He's thinking of ways to get me and KAT open looks; he's thinking of ways to get Mike and Rudy open looks; he's thinking of ways to get Jaden involved, he's trying to keep Naz in it to get him involved. He's just a great coach and he don't sugarcoat anything with anybody, like, if KAT f----- up he's going to get on KAT, if I'm f----- up he's going to get on me, if Rudy f----- up he's going to get on Rudy. He's going to get on anybody that is messing up throughout the game and I think that's what makes him the best coach in the NBA to me because no matter who it is, no matter how high the player is on the pole (raises his arm and hand up), he's going to get on you from start to finish and it starts with the head of the snake and he's the head of our snake."

I love that quote from Edwards. Another thing I admire about Finch...he doesn't seem to have Favorites (pets) or a doghouse. Am I wrong on that? I just always felt like other coaches had "their guys". Especially Thibs.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

That quote from Ant about Finch is so important for us as a team, because it sets the expectation for the team to listen to the coaches and it sets the expectation for the coaches to live up to the praise.

That's been one of the great things about Ant's leadership that we've commented on time and again throughout these playoffs. He's really good about taking the positive attention that the media is showering on him and deflecting it to his teammates. That really builds up everybody's confidence and trust. Indirectly, that makes our defense stronger because guys all fight harder for each other, and it makes our offense stronger because guys are more likely to move the ball when they trust each other. And maybe most importantly, it has got to make those guys like Ant even more, which means that they'll be that much more likely to emulate his confidence and energy level. When you appreciate somebody more, you're just that much more willing to give more to them in return. Ant's generosity functions to make him even more of a tone-setter for this team, ironically increasing his own power and authority by sharing the attention he gets with others.

This wouldn't carry nearly as much weight if Ant wasn't as good as he is, and it wouldn't be nearly as powerful if we were losing. But because of his leadership style, when he plays hard, and when we win, the effort and chemistry on this team is just through the freaking roof. And there it is, the old chemistry and culture question. Which comes first, culture or winning? It was always a chicken or egg question. Both function to reinforce the other. Winning builds culture and culture builds winning. And with Ant, man, Ant is like a fucking amplifier to that positive feedback loop. Some stars are selfish or lack chemistry and communication and trust with their teammates despite their greatness, and they lack the ability to get a team to gel and turn into more than the sum of their parts. Ant seems to be a magnifier in that sense, and it's so amazing to have that.

All praise to Finch and the coaching staff, which has clearly done a great job. And I'm so thankful that they've got a superstar who is praising them and saying he wants them to give them hard truths and to treat all players the same. Of course, it's easier to say that when you're winning. But so often these days, it seems like when things go wrong on teams there's a breakdown of trust between the star players and the coaches. So to have a star basically saying, "I trust them, I want them to be hard on us, it makes us better," it's just so helpful.

I don't mean to turn this into an Ant thread, but it really does kind of feel like his youth almost works in his favor as a leader. He's still young, and young guys tend to be more open to coaching. He's got all the attention in the world, but it still seems somewhat new to him so he hasn't yet gotten an unhealthy ego about it. He's not an old, jaded star who has been burned by several failed seasons, moves from team to team, or a complete turnover of teammates. He's got the same kind of young energy that OKC has right now. And it's weirdly making him a BETTER leader than a vet might be. We should really enjoy this while it lasts (and hope it lasts a long long time!).

[Monster]

I have found Finch to be one of the least interesting, least charismatic coaches around. I don't even know how to describe his coaching style. Does he have a family? A wife? Kids? I literally know nothing about the guy and there is nothing distinctive about him at all.

But guess what? None of that matters, as his purpose isn't to impress the NBA press corps or fans. Ant did a great job explaining why Finch is a great coach in the post-game presser:

"It starts with our head coach. He comes in every day, he gets to work, gets there early. He's thinking of ways to get me and KAT open looks; he's thinking of ways to get Mike and Rudy open looks; he's thinking of ways to get Jaden involved, he's trying to keep Naz in it to get him involved. He's just a great coach and he don't sugarcoat anything with anybody, like, if KAT f----- up he's going to get on KAT, if I'm f----- up he's going to get on me, if Rudy f----- up he's going to get on Rudy. He's going to get on anybody that is messing up throughout the game and I think that's what makes him the best coach in the NBA to me because no matter who it is, no matter how high the player is on the pole (raises his arm and hand up), he's going to get on you from start to finish and it starts with the head of the snake and he's the head of our snake."

I love that quote from Edwards. Another thing I admire about Finch...he doesn't seem to have Favorites (pets) or a doghouse. Am I wrong on that? I just always felt like other coaches had "their guys". Especially Thibs.

I kinda get where Q is coming from but my take is I like listening to Finch. Often he comes off to me as just a regular sort of guy. He is smart, a bit funny doesn't BS around but also doesn't take himself too seriously. I think he is actually sort of charismatic in that he seems like a guy that would be easy to follow. He gives you your due when you deserve it, willing to point out a flaw but isn't going go too crazy ripping your ass publicly. It's pretty clear that he can help some players have success and his teams have had success as well. I think Finch has landed in mostly a good situation but still the Wolves were shit for years and there are some things he has done that's pretty impressive even if you account for the talent with the team. It's also worth noting I think he has an excellent group of assistants and that stuff matters.