BeenLurkin wrote: ↑Tue Aug 04, 2026 12:03 pm
It’s sorta a problem you solve backwards. In general the first sub out will be Rudy. Reduce his minutes, keep him healthy. Or he picks up some fouls. Therefore the first sub is probably Joan or Ayo depending on if we can go small or not. TJ subs opposite Lamelo. The rest is just working Jalen Clark and Josh green and bones in and out situationally. Do we need defense? Do we spark the offense? Is someone in fouls trouble (Jaden).
Trey Lyle’s being ABLE to start and eat usef minutes makes this so much easier. If he can’t then we have problems and will be making moves early in the season.
I agree, Lurkin. Based on his record, I think Trey can fill that role. But we won’t know until we see it. I’ll put some trust our front office and coaching staff. There certainly know more about him than we do and TC in particular is familiar with him. With
That knowledge and familiarity they wasted no time signing him. So I’m encouraged.
A couple things I know about Chris Finch as he has coached the Wolves.
He likes set starting rotations and seems plenty willing to let things play out and stick with something till he is somewhat forced another way. This is a bit made ding but it's also not that different from how many other coaches in the NBA do it.
He also has shown plenty of times he matches up or avoids matchups where players are clearly undersized etc when it comes to bench rotation players. He also is willing to look at playing guys that are hot later in the game and looking for ways to get favorable matchups as the game goes on.
Finch tends to want to play the bench players he has available. Last year he played Donte as a starting guard. He isn't a PG and Edwards wasn't either. Jon K has reported that starting meant a lot to Donte so that may have been a factor too.
If there is a need for a starting lineup change due to injury Finch either elevates a player up to start keeping rotations more the same or plays the next best player. It would be interesting to see who he plays as the starting PG if Ball wasn't available.
Assuming this is basically the roster it will be interesting to see what happens in training camp and preseason. Does Lyles fail to claim a large spot in the rotation? Does a guy like Green or Clark or TSJ seize one of those starting spots? What guys seems to play better together? Does Beringer show he needs more than like 15-18 regular mins per game?
Another consideration is do any additions to the coaching staff bring any new thoughts or ideas to what this coaching staff has done the last few years under Finch? Could the Wolves hire someone with a bit of a different perspective on things that still moves with Finch? Does this roster makeup simply play so much different and maybe much more of what Finch would like to play that sole of what he did in the past is thrown out the window? I'd be a little surprised if this team doesn't play quite a bit faster this year.
Monster wrote: ↑Tue Aug 04, 2026 3:03 pm
A couple things I know about Chris Finch as he has coached the Wolves.
He likes set starting rotations and seems plenty willing to let things play out and stick with something till he is somewhat forced another way. This is a bit made ding but it's also not that different from how many other coaches in the NBA do it.
He also has shown plenty of times he matches up or avoids matchups where players are clearly undersized etc when it comes to bench rotation players. He also is willing to look at playing guys that are hot later in the game and looking for ways to get favorable matchups as the game goes on.
Finch tends to want to play the bench players he has available. Last year he played Donte as a starting guard. He isn't a PG and Edwards wasn't either. Jon K has reported that starting meant a lot to Donte so that may have been a factor too.
If there is a need for a starting lineup change due to injury Finch either elevates a player up to start keeping rotations more the same or plays the next best player. It would be interesting to see who he plays as the starting PG if Ball wasn't available.
Assuming this is basically the roster it will be interesting to see what happens in training camp and preseason. Does Lyles fail to claim a large spot in the rotation? Does a guy like Green or Clark or TSJ seize one of those starting spots? What guys seems to play better together? Does Beringer show he needs more than like 15-18 regular mins per game?
Another consideration is do any additions to the coaching staff bring any new thoughts or ideas to what this coaching staff has done the last few years under Finch? Could the Wolves hire someone with a bit of a different perspective on things that still moves with Finch? Does this roster makeup simply play so much different and maybe much more of what Finch would like to play that sole of what he did in the past is thrown out the window? I'd be a little surprised if this team doesn't play quite a bit faster this year.
Great points monster. Finch has been pretty set in his rotations, and as the roster stands it could force him to be a little more flexible.
I would like to see Joan getting run with Ball as much as possible. Does Ball stick around 30 min a game? If so, does Ayo and TJ take Ball and Lyles out 5 min into the 1st and 3rd, then Rudy comes out around 7 min with Joan taking his spot? Then Jaden comes out for Ball around 9 min?
Last 3 to 4 min of the 1st would be Ball, Ant, Ayo, TJ, Joan. That would be a fast moving team against many of the oppositions 2nd units.
2nd would have Ant, Ball, and Rudy on the bench with Ayo, TJ, Green, Jaden, Joan to start things out. Lyles would get minutes if a 2nd big body is needed or if Jaden is in foul trouble. From there Ant comes back in around 5 min mark and Ball and Rudy soon after.
This allows Finch to find matchups that he likes and get more bodies on the floor. If Finch can get the players to buy in to the 48 minutes of hell style defense and can keep Ant engaged on defense, Finch will need to play 9 or 10 on a nightly basis!
DNatagal wrote: ↑Tue Aug 04, 2026 5:55 pm
If Finch can get the players to buy in to the 48 minutes of hell style defense and can keep Ant engaged on defense, Finch will need to play 9 or 10 on a nightly basis!
wouldn't that be a dream!
You make a good point about stacking Ball and Beringer's minutes
Monster wrote: ↑Tue Aug 04, 2026 3:03 pm
A couple things I know about Chris Finch as he has coached the Wolves.
He likes set starting rotations and seems plenty willing to let things play out and stick with something till he is somewhat forced another way. This is a bit made ding but it's also not that different from how many other coaches in the NBA do it.
He also has shown plenty of times he matches up or avoids matchups where players are clearly undersized etc when it comes to bench rotation players. He also is willing to look at playing guys that are hot later in the game and looking for ways to get favorable matchups as the game goes on.
Finch tends to want to play the bench players he has available. Last year he played Donte as a starting guard. He isn't a PG and Edwards wasn't either. Jon K has reported that starting meant a lot to Donte so that may have been a factor too.
If there is a need for a starting lineup change due to injury Finch either elevates a player up to start keeping rotations more the same or plays the next best player. It would be interesting to see who he plays as the starting PG if Ball wasn't available.
Assuming this is basically the roster it will be interesting to see what happens in training camp and preseason. Does Lyles fail to claim a large spot in the rotation? Does a guy like Green or Clark or TSJ seize one of those starting spots? What guys seems to play better together? Does Beringer show he needs more than like 15-18 regular mins per game?
Another consideration is do any additions to the coaching staff bring any new thoughts or ideas to what this coaching staff has done the last few years under Finch? Could the Wolves hire someone with a bit of a different perspective on things that still moves with Finch? Does this roster makeup simply play so much different and maybe much more of what Finch would like to play that sole of what he did in the past is thrown out the window? I'd be a little surprised if this team doesn't play quite a bit faster this year.
Great points monster. Finch has been pretty set in his rotations, and as the roster stands it could force him to be a little more flexible.
We'll see how comfortable he is with that
Finch said in a recent media appearance (within the last month or so) that he might need to mix and match lineups. Even Jon K was like I mean yeah that makes sense but I will believe it when I see it in terms of the starting lineup. Jon K also pointed out that this roster seems way more built like a group that matches what Finch was more known for when he was hired. We will see.
I saw that Will Barton will be joining the Wolves staff as a player development coach. He was with the Iowa Wolves last year and was on the summer league staff. I had wondered what he was up to a few weeks ago (Connelly connection) but must have forgotten to look it up. He is only 35.
DNatagal wrote: ↑Tue Aug 04, 2026 5:55 pm
If Finch can get the players to buy in to the 48 minutes of hell style defense and can keep Ant engaged on defense, Finch will need to play 9 or 10 on a nightly basis!
wouldn't that be a dream!
You make a good point about stacking Ball and Beringer's minutes
Ball and Beringer or Ball and Gobert...either of those guys will benefit from playing with Ball on offense. I could see Beringer even more than Gobert creating some of his own opportunities because he is just so active and athletic and he has better hands. He might be less dependant on someone getting him the ball in spots plus there is a chance he can handle the ball more than Gobert (low bar!). Lol
Monster wrote: ↑Tue Aug 04, 2026 3:03 pm
A couple things I know about Chris Finch as he has coached the Wolves.
He likes set starting rotations and seems plenty willing to let things play out and stick with something till he is somewhat forced another way. This is a bit made ding but it's also not that different from how many other coaches in the NBA do it.
He also has shown plenty of times he matches up or avoids matchups where players are clearly undersized etc when it comes to bench rotation players. He also is willing to look at playing guys that are hot later in the game and looking for ways to get favorable matchups as the game goes on.
Finch tends to want to play the bench players he has available. Last year he played Donte as a starting guard. He isn't a PG and Edwards wasn't either. Jon K has reported that starting meant a lot to Donte so that may have been a factor too.
If there is a need for a starting lineup change due to injury Finch either elevates a player up to start keeping rotations more the same or plays the next best player. It would be interesting to see who he plays as the starting PG if Ball wasn't available.
Assuming this is basically the roster it will be interesting to see what happens in training camp and preseason. Does Lyles fail to claim a large spot in the rotation? Does a guy like Green or Clark or TSJ seize one of those starting spots? What guys seems to play better together? Does Beringer show he needs more than like 15-18 regular mins per game?
Another consideration is do any additions to the coaching staff bring any new thoughts or ideas to what this coaching staff has done the last few years under Finch? Could the Wolves hire someone with a bit of a different perspective on things that still moves with Finch? Does this roster makeup simply play so much different and maybe much more of what Finch would like to play that sole of what he did in the past is thrown out the window? I'd be a little surprised if this team doesn't play quite a bit faster this year.
Great points monster. Finch has been pretty set in his rotations, and as the roster stands it could force him to be a little more flexible.
We'll see how comfortable he is with that
Finch said in a recent media appearance (within the last month or so) that he might need to mix and match lineups. Even Jon K was like I mean yeah that makes sense but I will believe it when I see it in terms of the starting lineup. Jon K also pointed out that this roster seems way more built like a group that matches what Finch was more known for when he was hired. We will see.
I saw that Will Barton will be joining the Wolves staff as a player development coach. He was with the Iowa Wolves last year and was on the summer league staff. I had wondered what he was up to a few weeks ago (Connelly connection) but must have forgotten to look it up. He is only 35.
I find it hard to believe that athletes will be willing to buy into too much change in their rhythm. Maybe after the starters or 6th man, but I'm pretty disaffected of the idea that the starting group could be subject to change on a nightly basis.
That requires a good amount of buy in but even if it's not necessarily setting players up to succeed if it's a nightly gambit how much they'll play.
Even if it isn't actually that volatile players could run out of patience really quick I think
Jaden at the 3 means he's maintaining his role as a ball stopper, which is how he's made a name for himself and something in which he's best on the team for. There is less defensive burden on Ant in this lineup, which I suppose isn't a bad thing.
Aussie, It's actually the opposite of that. Ant will have MORE defensive burden if Lyles starts. That's because there are a lot of teams with two very good scoring guards/wings that play together a lot. Jaden can handle one of them, but Trey Lyles sure as heck isn't guarding the other guy and neither will Ball. That leaves Ant. Doncic/Reaves, SGA/JDubs, Maxey/Brown, Flagg/Irving are just a few examples where having two POA defenders like Jaden and Green (or Clark!) in the starting lineup makes a lot of sense.
I know it’s just preseason, but the first game against the Heat is going to be a big challenge for us if Jaden ànd Green start at the two forward positions. Jaden will be giving up 30-40 pounds, and with Wig being nearly 9 feet in standing reach, Green will be giving up 6 inches in length. Not saying they can’t do it, but we’ll be asking à heck of a lot out of those two guys.
I agree with the opinion here that Finchys nature is to go with a set lineup, and I think the players like it too. He may not have that luxury this season though.
