Minnesota Sports Forum

I was listening to the Celtics game on the radio driving around last night, and it was funny listening to how the two guys talked about Minott. The play by play guy was raving about him, while the color guy had a few "what is he doing" comments! The Minott experience!

But since some are calling for Finchy's head on this board, I have to admit I'm moving in that direction. Not only does he seem to have lost the locker room based on some players' comments recently, but there is some evidence from players that have left that Finchy didn't get as much out of them as he could have. Minott and Garza are getting a lot of playing time on a Celtics team that beat the Cavs last night. And NAW is averaging 16.2 PPG and sometimes starting for Atlanta. I think there was a lot more talent on last year's roster than our coach acknowledged. Time to give the keys to Nori?

FNG wrote: ↑Thu Oct 30, 2025 10:22 am I was listening to the Celtics game on the radio driving around last night, and it was funny listening to how the two guys talked about Minott. The play by play guy was raving about him, while the color guy had a few "what is he doing" comments! The Minott experience!

But since some are calling for Finchy's head on this board, I have to admit I'm moving in that direction. Not only does he seem to have lost the locker room based on some players' comments recently, but there is some evidence from players that have left that Finchy didn't get as much out of them as he could have. Minott and Garza are getting a lot of playing time on a Celtics team that beat the Cavs last night. And NAW is averaging 16.2 PPG and sometimes starting for Atlanta. I think there was a lot more talent on last year's roster than our coach acknowledged. Time to give the keys to Nori?

I don’t think Nori is the answer. The team did not perform well under Nori when Finchy was sidelined with the knee injury. I don’t know exactly who the right guy would be but I think it should be someone from outside the organization to bring a fresh perspective and new voice. How about Thibs? . Can we lure Phil Jackson out of retirement? Is Erik Spoelstra tired of the heat? (pun intended). How about TC reuniting with Mike Malone? Perhaps Malone could put some fire into this team. As I’ve watched videos breaking down the Wolves defensive struggles this season I’ve seen a lot of what looks like a serious lack of effort or intensity.

Portland gets the win over Denver to improve to 4-2. Portland is looking pretty good this year. Chicago takes down the Knicks to start the season 5-0 without Coby White. What getting rid of guys like Lavine and Derozan does for a team. Lavine and Derozan are averaging 48 per game combined on a team that is 1-4, and the Bulls are looking good without them.

rapsuperstar31 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 01, 2025 10:33 am Portland gets the win over Denver to improve to 4-2. Portland is looking pretty good this year. Chicago takes down the Knicks to start the season 5-0 without Coby White. What getting rid of guys like Lavine and Derozan does for a team. Lavine and Derozan are averaging 48 per game combined on a team that is 1-4, and the Bulls are looking good without them.

So true, Rap. I like White, and I'm surprised the Bulls are playing so well without him. San Antonio is the other surprise undefeated team despite Fox being out. I'm not a big Fox fan, so I'm not surprised they're playing so well without him. They have a lot of guys who can run an offense (Castle, Harper, even old friend JMac who typically still has no TOs this season), so I wouldn't be stunned if the Spurs look to move Fox. He's a volume scorer, and guys like that will always be in demand...I'm just not certain his inefficient scoring fits well with this team.

rapsuperstar31 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 01, 2025 10:33 am Portland gets the win over Denver to improve to 4-2. Portland is looking pretty good this year. Chicago takes down the Knicks to start the season 5-0 without Coby White. What getting rid of guys like Lavine and Derozan does for a team. Lavine and Derozan are averaging 48 per game combined on a team that is 1-4, and the Bulls are looking good without them.

Yup! LaVine is considered too good of a scorer to come off the bench, but that's probably the role he's best suited for. Just doesn't play winning basketball as a starter and Derozan is right there with him for the most part.

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Sun Nov 02, 2025 12:59 pm https://www.si.com/nba/timberwolves/ons ... er-in-east

Thanks for posting this article Lip. It's a fairly balanced article by the author and not really implicating Finch for Minott's lack of playing time.

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sun Nov 02, 2025 2:47 pm

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Sun Nov 02, 2025 12:59 pm https://www.si.com/nba/timberwolves/ons ... er-in-east

Thanks for posting this article Lip. It's a fairly balanced article by the author and not really implicating Finch for Minott's lack of playing time.

Yes, I thought the author’s take was very fair. My take is more general. I think Minott is one example of what I consider an overall strategic mistake by the Wolves organization. The mistake was attempting to become a championship too soon in the development of Ant and Jaden by (1) bringing in combination of talented impact veterans who don’t fit well together or with Ant before he was even 22 years old; and relatedly (2) not giving the young talent they drafted the necessary development time on the court in real games. The Wolves have been in a situation since acquiring Rudy’s where the CBA makes it imperative that the Wolves draft well and develop the players they drafted as soon as possible as part of building towards a championship as Ant and Jaden get into their mid 20s and hit the front end of their prime career years. What Minott is doing in Boston is a signal to take a smarter strategic approach with Dilly, TJ and Clark.

I watched the Charlotte game again. Dilly and Clark were tremendous. The game was tied in the 3rd quarter when Dilly came into the game. When he exited later that quarter we were ahead by 12. He came in again in the 4th when we were 9 points ahead and we were 12 points when he left the court a few minutes later. His box score stats didn’t stand out, but he was terrific. Dilly also shared PG duties with Bones in the Wolves 11-2 run the end of the 3rd quarter against the Lakers to put the Wolves back in contention. In both games, Rob’s defense was solid to go with his very good offensive minutes. Clark is still struggling with his perimeter shot, but he is a game changer on the defensive end. As for Shannon, we saw last season in big games against top competition what he can do. He needs consistent meaningful minutes and a coach who doesn’t sap his confidence by yanking him for the same sorts of mistakes the vets make with impunity.

A young NBA player who doesn’t get enough national attention in my view is Cade Cunningham. After a fantastic last season as the Pistons’ star who carried to their best record in years, he’s picked up where he left off. Yesterday in the Pistons win over the Mavs, Cade had 18 assists to go with 21 points, 6 rebounds 3 steals and only 1 turnover. He’s a bona fide superstar.

Boston losing at home to Utah and dropping to 3-5. Minott started and played only 15 minutes. Went 1-5 from the field with 4 fouls.

And Memphis about to lose at home to Detroit with Lip's guy Cade Cunningham having a great game.