The Timberwolves’ Julius Randle problem could cost Chris Finch his job

Julius Randle has been a favorite of Chris Finch since arriving in Minnesota via trade. Some of it stems from when Finch was one of Randle’s assistant coaches during his lone season with the New Orleans Pelicans, but more than that, Randle is just a “Finch type of guy.”

He plays bully ball. When he’s at his best, he can get to the rim every time on the court, he provides plenty of good looks for his teammates on his post-ups and is extremely versatile on offense.

Unfortunately, Randle is far from a perfect player, and if his shortcomings cost the Wolves in the playoffs, Finch may be looking for a new job.

Finch quickly calls up players, except Randle

A famous Finch callout was from a few years ago, when Karl-Anthony Towns exploded for 62 points against the Charlotte Hornets in a game that the Wolves ultimately lost because the team was seemingly more focused on feeding KAT than winning the game.

While this may have been true, Finch didn’t shy away from calling out Towns in the postgame comments, claiming he was playing immature basketball and was focused on chasing big numbers.

He drafted Anthony Edwards for being lazy on defense at times, and he called Gobert because he didn’t set the tone for a lot of reasons. But it appears Julius Randle is immune to public criticism from Finch, and whatever the reason for that, it could ultimately be the reason Finch could be fired if the Wolves fall short of their goal again.

The Wolves could be one early exit away from a major upset

The Western Conference is tougher than ever and the Wolves didn’t do themselves any favors by losing to the teams ahead of them in the standings earlier this season. While I’m optimistic that the Wolves have the firepower to win a championship, there’s also a real chance they get caught in the wrong matchup and lose in the first round.

If they lose like this, a big reason could be Finch relying too heavily on Julius Randle in unfavorable games, as he did against Oklahoma City last year. There are certain matchups where Randle playing heavy minutes will hurt them, and OKC is one of them. Against OKC, Naz Reid should almost always close games unless Randle is hot.

He makes quicker decisions than Randle, and he’s a better spacer. But knowing Finch, he’ll probably be working with Randle until the wheels fall off, which is a shame because if he continues to push the Randle button that isn’t working in the playoffs, his job as head coach could ultimately be over sooner than he’d like.