Chris Finch

[Monster]

Finch was on Wolfson's recent podcast and it's a solid listen. A couple of things to note:

He said they have had plenty of interest from teams on Bolmaro in the last few transaction periods. He really likes the intensity and energy he brings.

When asked about starting lineups he said there are various players he thinks have ability to start and depending on how things shake out they may play matchups and starting Beverly could even be a possibility.

They are still intending to bring back McLaughlin and Vanderbilt.

On Elston Turner Finch said they actually had contacted him before they decided to promote Blair. He said they are fortunate he was still available. He said he would be the defensive coordinator but that Turner had been around a lot of good coaches especially ones with good offensive minds. Finch said Turner is basically a head coach and will be really helpful to him. I hadn't thought about that angle but Turner does really bring a wealth of experience and while he hasn't been a head coach he has been a significant figure in a lot of coaching staffs and was interviewed a few times for head coaching positions including once with the Wolves.

In addition Finch just seems like a pretty cool dude a guy. He has some personality to him.

[Lipoli390]

Finch was on Wolfson's recent podcast and it's a solid listen. A couple of things to note:

He said they have had plenty of interest from teams on Bolmaro in the last few transaction periods. He really likes the intensity and energy he brings.

When asked about starting lineups he said there are various players he thinks have ability to start and depending on how things shake out they may play matchups and starting Beverly could even be a possibility.

They are still intending to bring back McLaughlin and Vanderbilt.

On Elston Turner Finch said they actually had contacted him before they decided to promote Blair. He said they are fortunate he was still available. He said he would be the defensive coordinator but that Turner had been around a lot of good coaches especially ones with good offensive minds. Finch said Turner is basically a head coach and will be really helpful to him. I hadn't thought about that angle but Turner does really bring a wealth of experience and while he hasn't been a head coach he has been a significant figure in a lot of coaching staffs and was interviewed a few times for head coaching positions including once with the Wolves.

In addition Finch just seems like a pretty cool dude a guy. He has some personality to him.

Thanks for the heads up and summary, Monster. I'll definitely listen to it.

[FNG]

Finch was on Wolfson's recent podcast and it's a solid listen. A couple of things to note:

He said they have had plenty of interest from teams on Bolmaro in the last few transaction periods. He really likes the intensity and energy he brings.

When asked about starting lineups he said there are various players he thinks have ability to start and depending on how things shake out they may play matchups and starting Beverly could even be a possibility.

They are still intending to bring back McLaughlin and Vanderbilt.

On Elston Turner Finch said they actually had contacted him before they decided to promote Blair. He said they are fortunate he was still available. He said he would be the defensive coordinator but that Turner had been around a lot of good coaches especially ones with good offensive minds. Finch said Turner is basically a head coach and will be really helpful to him. I hadn't thought about that angle but Turner does really bring a wealth of experience and while he hasn't been a head coach he has been a significant figure in a lot of coaching staffs and was interviewed a few times for head coaching positions including once with the Wolves.

In addition Finch just seems like a pretty cool dude a guy. He has some personality to him.

Thanks for the heads up and summary, Monster. I'll definitely listen to it.

I will too, I'm sky high on Finch. I'm almost never disappointed by anything he says. I love the flexibility he exudes, and the fact he's willing to start Beverley if the situation dictates. Heck, Pat started for the Clippers, so this shouldn't be considered a take that is too far out there.

[Monster]

Summer league coach Jeff Newton got the Iowa Wolves coaching job. It seems like he made the most of an opportunity coaching in Vegas.

[FNG]

This from Dane Moore:

Some Wolves offensive stats since January 3rd...

No. 1 in overall offense
No. 1 in half court offense
No. 1 in transition offense
No. 6 in 3P%
No. 1 in 3-pt volume
No. 2 in midrange FG%
No. 28 in midrange volume
No. 18 at the rim
No. 6 in TOV%
No. 9 in FT rate
No. 8 in OREB%

I didn't know where to put this, so I decided to revive the old Chris Finch thread...because I think this is mostly about him. He came here with a reputation as an offensive genius, but some of us scratched our heads last season and early this season as we watched an offense that struggled in the half court and seemed to be all about one-on-one play. During the November 6-game losing streak, Finch would appear in post-game conferences decrying the lack of ball movement. We were excited about our new aggressive defense, but concerned about our half court offense which ranked near the bottom of the league.

Fast forward to January, and the stats are 180 degrees from where they were in November. Did anyone think the 26th rated half court offense would become the #1 half court offense in just a few short months? Yes, DLo and PatBev have been great, but they have also missed a lot of games in January, and the offense continues to click. It's extraordinary that the entire roster seems to have finally embraced Finch's ball-movement offensive strategy. Sometimes Ant still wants to go one-on-one, but just as often we see him beating his man to the basket and throwing a perfect pass to a wide-open teammate in the corner for a three. We see nobody standing around, but instead cutting to the basket knowing a teammate is going to share the ball. DLo to Vando is the best example of this, but teammates are still finding Vando for dunks with DLo out.

All this to say Chris Finch is what we hoped he would be when we hired him...a guy who could transform an offense. He has to be in the running for coach of the year, doesn't he?

[Lipoli390]

This from Dane Moore:

Some Wolves offensive stats since January 3rd...

No. 1 in overall offense
No. 1 in half court offense
No. 1 in transition offense
No. 6 in 3P%
No. 1 in 3-pt volume
No. 2 in midrange FG%
No. 28 in midrange volume
No. 18 at the rim
No. 6 in TOV%
No. 9 in FT rate
No. 8 in OREB%

I didn't know where to put this, so I decided to revive the old Chris Finch thread...because I think this is mostly about him. He came here with a reputation as an offensive genius, but some of us scratched our heads last season and early this season as we watched an offense that struggled in the half court and seemed to be all about one-on-one play. During the November 6-game losing streak, Finch would appear in post-game conferences decrying the lack of ball movement. We were excited about our new aggressive defense, but concerned about our half court offense which ranked near the bottom of the league.

Fast forward to January, and the stats are 180 degrees from where they were in November. Did anyone think the 26th rated half court offense would become the #1 half court offense in just a few short months? Yes, DLo and PatBev have been great, but they have also missed a lot of games in January, and the offense continues to click. It's extraordinary that the entire roster seems to have finally embraced Finch's ball-movement offensive strategy. Sometimes Ant still wants to go one-on-one, but just as often we see him beating his man to the basket and throwing a perfect pass to a wide-open teammate in the corner for a three. We see nobody standing around, but instead cutting to the basket knowing a teammate is going to share the ball. DLo to Vando is the best example of this, but teammates are still finding Vando for dunks with DLo out.

All this to say Chris Finch is what we hoped he would be when we hired him...a guy who could transform an offense. He has to be in the running for coach of the year, doesn't he?

Great post, FNG. And yes, this was the right thread. What we're now seeing from the Wolves is definitely attributable substantially to Finch. He's the coach many of us thought he'd be after last season.

[FNG]

Anybody else get a kick out of Finchy being miked up during last night's game. Starting with his pre-game banter with one of the refs about their mutual fondness for Bob Seger (you paying attention, KAT? Work the refs, don't criticize them...and you might get more calls) to his in-game commentary, it was very insightful. I especially loved his "I need a cutter here" yell when he sensed his team standing around, which I think may have been followed by a backdoor cut by Jaden. I'm not sure I could be any higher on Finchy, but last night helped. When I go to games, I enjoy focusing on the interaction between the coach and his players...especially during time outs. It was always apparent that there wasn't a lot of focus on the coach during the most recent Thibs and Saunders regimes...a lot more looking around the arena during timeouts than at the coach...but that is totally different now with this coach. Every eye is focused on him, and you can tell he is both liked and respected by his players. I still give him a lot of credit for the team's improvement this year. Yes, coaching matters.

But Finchy- for god's sake, give Ant and Vando a little time off now and then. Both have looked a lot different the past two weeks at times, and could have really benefited from an occasional break. I hope Finchy is a little more judicious with playing time as we get closer to the playoffs.