The Minnesota Timberwolves now have a 10-7 record and have suffered back-to-back late-game collapses, most recently on Monday night against the Sacramento Kings. Minnesota posts the highest turnover rate in clutch time and the 26th offensive rating in the clutch. It’s certainly a concern that the Wolves have crumbled in the clutch and are 0-6 against teams above .500 so far this season.
It would be foolish to overreact to this if these link-time shortcomings were new. The problem is that they are not new. Personally, I blame the players first and the coaches second. However, the fact that these issues continue to arise under Chris Finch should be a real concern. Not all of these problems fall on Finch; some careless turnovers are out of his control, but some of the offensive issues are related to Finch.
Notably, in Finch’s four full seasons, the Wolves have never been ranked higher than 15th in clutch time-net rating or 19th in clutch time-offensive rating. This despite ranking in the top 10 in net rating in three seasons under Finch and making two straight conference finals. Again, while the players need to perform better, Finch also needs to put them in a better position to succeed.
I’m not saying Finch is a bad coach, but since this issue keeps coming up, it’s fair to have a conversation about the role his coaching plays.
Teams are quick to fire coaches when things aren’t working
Finch is perhaps the most divisive figure among Wolves fans. Personally, I think he is a great coach, and by all accounts the most successful coach in franchise history. He is an excellent culture builder and has been a big reason why the Wolves have had so much success in recent years.
That said, the NBA is an important league for what you’ve done for me lately. The Denver Nuggets fired Michael Malone less than two years removed from winning a championship. Heck, the New York Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau after he led the franchise to its first conference finals in 25 years.
The point is not that Finch can be fired tomorrow, but rather that he is not immune to the possibility of being fired if these problems continue. Maintaining a good relationship with the locker room is essential. To be honest, I have no idea what the players think of Finch.
Anyway, what I do know is that if Finch loses the locker room, Tim Connelly will say goodbye to him, and he won’t shed any tears in the process.
It helps that the Timberwolves have one of the top assistant coaches in Micah Nori, ready to dive in. However, this is all speculative. Finch is in the top spot, but if these late-game issues continue, he certainly will be.
Finch has played a role in the Wolves’ clutch time problems
However, let’s get back to what we do know. The Wolves’ clutch time issues have been a huge problem under Finch in recent seasons. And because they’ve gone on for so long, Finch can no longer be flawless.
Late game situations often consist of heavy isolations. That’s fine, but teams also need structure late in these games, and that’s something Finch fails to do. This is especially vital if the team is struggling to score during these isolation games.
The Wolves shot 29.7 percent from the field in overtime and the fourth quarter of Monday’s game. Still, Finch continued to run isolations or standard high pick-and-rolls, also before Friday’s game against the Phoenix Suns, when the Wolves shot 9-for-21 in the fourth quarter.
Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle are two of the best isolation players in the league, but a little variety and structured play would benefit the Wolves immensely during these games. Edwards hit eight of the Wolves’ 13 clutch shots. In a vacuum, that’s fine with me (especially since he scored all of the Wolves’ clutch points), but Finch could have mixed things up to make him and other players look better.
Anthony Edwards end of the FGA vs. Sacramento game https://t.co/h8rJQOdq5g pic.twitter.com/GZkUh4IDD9
— Jonah (@Huncho_Jman) November 25, 2025
The Wolves’ lack of variety and structure is a problem in general, but especially over the course of the games.
Finch has also come under heavy criticism for his timeout management. This isn’t a big problem for me. The fact that there is no timeout at the end of the Suns game and not using it when there were 34 seconds left in the Kings game confirms the fans’ complaint.
Again, to be clear, Finch is not and should not be on the hot seat yet. Anyway, If these issues continue, they certainly will, and the Wolves will have to make a tough decision.
However, conversations about his late-game coaching should already be happening.
#time #Timberwolves #awkward #Chris #Finch #conversation