Chris Finch is giving his opponents another reason to shout loudly about his coaching

After the Minnesota Timberwolves’ loss to the lowly New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, Rudy Gobert called for players to be held accountable and pulled from games if the defensive effort is lacking. Many thought he was talking about Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle, and saw this as another reason to speak negatively about Chris Finch.

The team didn’t look any more motivated on Sunday after a 19-point loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. The deficit was bigger prior to garbage time, and with Minnesota playing the Atlanta Hawks again on Monday, this time fans are wondering why Finch left his starters in for so long.

Left the starters in during a blowout

It wasn’t until there were 4:25 left in the fourth quarter that Finch decided to empty the bench. The Timberwolves called a timeout at that point when they trailed by 25. Up to that point, there were four starters on the field, along with Bones Hyland (Donte DiVincenzo fouled out about halfway through the fourth).

Now, usually on the first play of a back-to-back, coaches will try to rest key players if they get the chance. This is to enable them to start the next day’s match as fresh as possible. Finch waited for a long time, and many wondered what took so long.

The starters didn’t necessarily play big minutes. However, three of the five played 30 or more (Edwards 35, Randle 33, Gobert 30). On Monday they face a Hawks team that was off on Sunday.

Sometimes the coach just has to acknowledge that the team doesn’t have it, and that was the case with the Timberwolves on Sunday afternoon. In the outing, Minnesota scored just 19 points in the first quarter, had 42 points at halftime and 59 through three. It was an offensive battle all game, as they totaled more turnovers (20) than assists (17).

Opponents have another point about Finch

Finch has had his share of detractors during his tenure with the Timberwolves (like almost every head coach), but it seems like the numbers have increased this year. After back-to-back appearances in the conference finals, Minnesota is just half a game away from being a Play-In Tournament team.

With those two appearances in the conference finals, Finch may be the best coach in team history. Before that, the franchise reached a conference final only once. However, I believe many of the fans who were old enough to see the Flip Saunders era prefer him.

Having your main guys play late in the middle of a blowout is just another talking point for those who want Finch gone. It will be even more so when the Timberwolves get off to a slow start against Atlanta on Monday.