Minnesota Sports Forum

Finch going with the monster lineup to counter the spurs small lineup won them the game

Let's get game 5 and end this in 6

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:27 pm Let's get game 5 and end this in 6

60WinTim wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:24 pm

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 8:47 pm Kornet dominating, ugh. Screen assist which gave Fox about 10 minutes to lineup that 3 ball. Spurs are going to give OKC a good series.

A bit premature!

Ha, indeed it was. I didn't foresee Ant & Co. rallying in the 4th, but they did. Ant started it, but he got the help he needed from his team mates. He was clearly out of gas and was simply a decoy for a couple of sets where he just stood there on the perimeter with a Spur glued to him.

FNG wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:17 pm

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:15 pm Get Conley in there!

I feel like Finchy has had a very good playoffs…not so much tonight.

He did this crap in the regular season too, trying to save the TO versus advancing it and going up 7 with 20 seconds left. Also the one thing Conley is still good at is handling the ball. Ayo dribbled into the corner and turned it over. That said, why are we still horrendous at last 30 second in bounds plays? Finch needs to go.

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:28 pm

60WinTim wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:24 pm

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 8:47 pm Kornet dominating, ugh. Screen assist which gave Fox about 10 minutes to lineup that 3 ball. Spurs are going to give OKC a good series.

A bit premature!

Ha, indeed it was. I didn't foresee Ant & Co. rallying in the 4th, but they did. Ant started it, but he got the help he needed from his team mates. He was clearly out of gas and was simply a decoy for a couple of sets where he just stood there on the perimeter with a Spur glued to him.

I kind of loved that, the rest of the team was going 4-4 with a TON OF SPACE while Ant was just standing on the logo.

kekgeek wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:26 pm Finch going with the monster lineup to counter the spurs small lineup won them the game

I know Rudy was ineffective for spells with Kornet out there, but he absolutely contributed to the 4th quarter rally with a couple of big finishes off Naz and Randle assists and some key defensive rebounds.

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:28 pm

60WinTim wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:24 pm

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 8:47 pm Kornet dominating, ugh. Screen assist which gave Fox about 10 minutes to lineup that 3 ball. Spurs are going to give OKC a good series.

A bit premature!

Ha, indeed it was. I didn't foresee Ant & Co. rallying in the 4th, but they did. Ant started it, but he got the help he needed from his team mates. He was clearly out of gas and was simply a decoy for a couple of sets where he just stood there on the perimeter with a Spur glued to him.

We haven’t seen that kind of 4th quarter Ant in a long time…we needed it. Yes, he was gassed, but I saw zero evidence of any knee issues tonight. He needs to get his wind back, but other than that he looks 100% to me. It’s a 2 out of 3 now!

mjs34 wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:28 pm

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:27 pm Let's get game 5 and end this in 6

I agree. Get Ant an extra day or two to rest up for guarding Shai.

Phenom wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 8:59 pm

FNG wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 8:55 pm

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 8:51 pm
They started targeting him on D and Finch had no choice.

And yet we were blowing them out when he was in, cool, I saw him bullied once, but several smart defensive plays. I would have kept him in,

The problem is when he gets switched onto Fox. That wasn't amazing for Mike.

...and this is where the +/- and on/off stat runs into an issue, especially with small sample sizes:

- Player X is put into the game in a favorable situation. Player X is a net positive.
- Opposing team changes tactics and it's now a less favorable situation for Player X.
- Head coach reacts quickly and removes Player X from the game, thus "protecting" his positive plus-minus.

Now sometimes the head coach might be wrong, but his entire job is to sniff out favorable and unfavorable situations and matchups and then change the lineup accordingly. That's what Finch did once he saw the Spurs were going to hunt Conley.

Conley still deserves kudos for what he did out there, but it doesn't automatically mean he would have stayed positive if he played more minutes.