After being a strong Western Conference outfit for many seasons, the Minnesota Timberwolves look extremely lost this season. A team that was thought to be a Championship contender is currently placed sixth in the West with a 23-13 record. But their 24-point defeat to the Atlanta Hawks on December 31 raised a lot of eyebrows about Chris Finch’s capability of leading this team.

On January 4, NBA Insider Jon Krawczynski, in his session on SiriusXM, highlighted how the Minnesota Timberwolves fans have been extremely impatient with Finch.

“Finch has come under a lot of scrutiny within the Wolves fanbase this year. Certainly, there are things that Finch has done that aren’t elite. But by and large, he has been a terrific coach,” Krawczynski shared.

He also shared an example where a Minnesota fan asked him about Finch’s credentials other than guiding the team to the two Western Conference Finals, which he found very hilarious. Since the Hawks’ defeat, the dust has settled a bit as the Timberwolves won two consecutive games over the Miami Heat and the Washington Wizards.

“It’s exactly what we needed vs. a really good team that has been playing very well and has a style of play that’s very hard to guard,” Finch said following the win over the Miami Heat. The scrutiny of him was the highest, and he simply couldn’t offer another slip-up; therefore, he was relieved with a win. Even Anthony Edwards admitted that the win over the Heat was extremely crucial.

This is Chris Finch‘s sixth season with the Timberwolves, and he guided the team to consecutive Western Conference Finals in the last two seasons. Therefore, the fans were expecting only more improvement in the ongoing season, but on some aspects, they have been extremely flat, and therefore, there’s this disappointment around Finch.

He has been criticized for a lack of preparation, poor usage of players, and questionable decisions. There have been a lot of incidents that suggest that Finch might have lost control over the dressing room. Recently, Wolves’ main man Anthony Edwards received a lot of flak for leaving for the locker room when the game was still going on with the Hawks, though the result was decided.

Moving on, Finch got ejected for an altercation with an NBA referee while protesting a call in a December 19 game against the Thunder. However, in his absence, the most complete and best version of the Wolves took center stage and defeated the reigning champions, raising questions about whether Finch is the right man for the job or if it’s time to move on.

Anthony Edwards and Co. may look for alternative options if things don’t improve

They need to start looking like a team that has been to the Western Conference Finals in the last two seasons. Anthony Edwards has been delivering performances one after another, but he needs others to step up as well, with the head coach also working in sync.

If things go south again, the Timberwolves may opt for a change, and who better to appoint than their assistant coach Micah Nori, who understands the setup better than anyone and played a big role in their win over the Thunder.

The transition of moving to an assistant coach after the head coach’s sacking is not unprecedented, as the Denver Nuggets did the same in recent memory when they went with David Adelman after removing Mike Malone from his position. So it is now or never for Chris Finch to turn around his fortunes at Minnesota.

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