***Official Chris Finch -Wolves Head Coach Thread***

[PanicWolf]

Didn’t know coach can’t do it back to back

[weimy froob]

glad that finch and the staff are going to be at the all-star game. good publicity for the organization for the good things that happened in the first half of the season.

[weimy froob]

[Hornets]

Who's gonna clean that mess up Weimy? That carpet is ruined...

[weimy froob]

[shoteh]

Gotta give Finchy some credit. Couldn't have had a better min distribution than tonight.

Minutes total from game 1

38 Jaden +18
37 Rudy +19
36 Ant +19
29 NAW +28
27 Mike -8
27 KAT -2
19 NAZ +22
3 Luka +5

[weimy froob]

[weimy froob]

Dr. Evan Jeffries, DPT
@GameInjuryDoc
Doctor of Physical Therapy|Sports

Chris Finch tore his patellar tendon tonight. He will need surgery likely between rounds.Timeline of healing is 6 months, but usually 1 year before feeling normal.

[weimy froob]

The Timberwolves were en route to their first series sweep in franchise history Sunday in Phoenix. But the closing minutes — which ended in celebration — weren’t without a major bump in the road for the Wolves.

Or, rather, a collision.

Mike Conley was dribbling up the floor late when Suns guard Devin Booker gave him a bump and sent Conley flying toward the Wolves’ bench. Conley fell directly into Timberwolves coach Chris Finch.

Finch fell to the floor and grabbed at his leg. He eventually was helped away from the court. The team said Finch ruptured his right patellar tendon.

Conley collides with Finch

“I didn’t see him, honestly, at first,” Conley said. “I was just trying to push the ball up the floor and Book hip checked me out of bounds and when I saw him it was too late. I was trying to grab him. Knocked over, hit his head, and I think his foot got stuck. So it was just bad timing. … Prayers up for him, I’m sure he’ll be fine. We’ll do it for him and we’ll keep moving.”

After the game ended, players made their way into the medical room to see their coach.

“And he’s obviously in great spirits and so are the guys,” said Wolves assistant coach Micah Nori, who served as acting head coach in Finch’s absence.

“He didn’t wanna see me at first,” Conley joked. “I walked in and he started to run away. He just tried to shoo me away.”

Anthony Edwards was clearly upset by the injury — perhaps because it was a product of a Booker bump.

“I was mad as hell. I was mad. Because it’s not even something I want to talk about. I was (ticked) off,” Edwards said. “But we had to finish the game, win the game. But for sure I was mad as hell.”

And Minnesota did finish the game off with a win with Nori steering the ship. The assistant coach successfully executed end-of-game scenarios that included an inbounds play resulting in a bucket, offense-defense substitutions and key timeouts.

“At the end of the day, everything, the way Finchy does things and the way we’ve done things all season long, everybody has their roles and everybody just has each other’s backs, if you will,” Nori said. “I know it sounds cliche and corny, but it’s next man up, even with the coaching staff – Pablo (Prigioni), Kevin Hansen, (Elston Turner), all those guys were great. … It was kind of – I would never say business as usual, because Finchy does a phenomenal job, but we’re just trying to carry over what he’s been doing.”

That could be the case moving forward, as well. No treatment plans have been announced yet for Finch, but it’s logical to assume he’ll need surgery. Minnesota’s next series will start Saturday or next Monday. Will Finch be able to start that series on the front row of the bench? It feels unlikely. But he’ll certainly have a heavy hand in any schematic and rotational decisions.

[LwnmwrMan222]

Loses COTY and destroys his knee, all on the same day his team sweeps the first round. What a roller coaster day.

[LwnmwrMan222]

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. Will they move a seat back so he can be out there in A leg brace without tripping people? Or can a coach be somewhere else in the stadium with a headset like football and call plays down?

[Jimi_Thing]

A big reason why the Wolves defeated the Suns in a 4 game sweep was excellent head coaching.

I might have been the last Rube that would bring up that Finch was the main reason they lost the playoff series to Memphis a couple years back. Im officially done ever bringing that up again.

Wolves players and Wolves fans couldn’t ask for a better head coach.

[TheLokNesMonster]

A big reason why the Wolves defeated the Suns in a 4 game sweep was excellent head coaching.

I might have been the last Rube that would bring up that Finch was the main reason they lost the playoff series to Memphis a couple years back. Im officially done ever bringing that up again.

Wolves players and Wolves fans couldn’t ask for a better head coach.

Seems injury prone. If he can’t stay on the court, what good is he?

[SHAFA]

Get that man a throne

[Jimi_Thing]

A big reason why the Wolves defeated the Suns in a 4 game sweep was excellent head coaching.

I might have been the last Rube that would bring up that Finch was the main reason they lost the playoff series to Memphis a couple years back. Im officially done ever bringing that up again.

Wolves players and Wolves fans couldn’t ask for a better head coach.

Seems injury prone. If he can’t stay on the court, what good is he?

He’s the Zion Williamson of head coaches.

[HeHateMe]

A big reason why the Wolves defeated the Suns in a 4 game sweep was excellent head coaching.

I might have been the last Rube that would bring up that Finch was the main reason they lost the playoff series to Memphis a couple years back. Im officially done ever bringing that up again.

Wolves players and Wolves fans couldn’t ask for a better head coach.

They lost against Memphis because A) ShitLo Russell and B) lack of toughness in the paint...

Gobert/Conley/Jaden versus Vando/Pat Bev/DLO

what a difference!

[YBBR]

A big reason why the Wolves defeated the Suns in a 4 game sweep was excellent head coaching.

I might have been the last Rube that would bring up that Finch was the main reason they lost the playoff series to Memphis a couple years back. Im officially done ever bringing that up again.

Wolves players and Wolves fans couldn’t ask for a better head coach.

They lost against Memphis because A) ShitLo Russell and B) lack of toughness in the paint...

Gobert/Conley/Jaden versus Vando/Pat Bev/DLO

what a difference!

Karl had a pretty bad series against Memphis too. Not DLO bad, but it's nice when he's in position to affect the series in a positive way. Brandon Clarke killed us. Urgh!

[HeHateMe]

A big reason why the Wolves defeated the Suns in a 4 game sweep was excellent head coaching.

I might have been the last Rube that would bring up that Finch was the main reason they lost the playoff series to Memphis a couple years back. Im officially done ever bringing that up again.

Wolves players and Wolves fans couldn’t ask for a better head coach.

They lost against Memphis because A) ShitLo Russell and B) lack of toughness in the paint...

Gobert/Conley/Jaden versus Vando/Pat Bev/DLO

what a difference!

Karl had a pretty bad series against Memphis too. Not DLO bad, but it's nice when he's in position to affect the series in a positive way. Brandon Clarke killed us. Urgh!

Too many turnovers but he did have some big games... Wolves just didn't have much outside of KAT and Ant. Memphis had balance and depth.

[Moses Scurry]

This is why Finch didn't always call timeouts during the regular season, he was building their real-time problem-solving abilities.

7D chess.

[Beef Supreme]

A big reason why the Wolves defeated the Suns in a 4 game sweep was excellent head coaching.

I might have been the last Rube that would bring up that Finch was the main reason they lost the playoff series to Memphis a couple years back. Im officially done ever bringing that up again.

Wolves players and Wolves fans couldn’t ask for a better head coach.

Seems injury prone. If he can’t stay on the court, what good is he?

They shoot horses, don’t they?

[weimy froob]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

*puppies

[weimy froob]

[weimy froob]

[Jimi_Thing]

This is why Finch didn't always call timeouts during the regular season, he was building their real-time problem-solving abilities.

7D chess.

Would it have killed him to let Rubechat in on his little strategy?

[Moses Scurry]

This is why Finch didn't always call timeouts during the regular season, he was building their real-time problem-solving abilities.

7D chess.

Would it have killed him to let Rubechat in on his little strategy?

You know how many coaches want to be just like Chris Finch? He's not giving up his secret 11 herb and spice recipe.

We all know WC is the one stop shop for coaches and GM's for elite basketball knowledge.

[TheLokNesMonster]

Seems like a good guy talking up the team and Finch. I respect that.

It’s going to be a shame to have to blow them out in 4, but whayagunnado?

[Small Hands]

This injury is 100% going to have an impact on the series. Bad omen

[A$$MAN]

This injury is 100% going to have an impact on the series. Bad omen

I agree. The team looked incredibly focused and prepared all series against the Suns...Finch did a fantastic job.

Not sure what happens if he has surgery this week? How does that effect the game planning if he's not around? Will he be able to travel with the team? Lots of questions right now.

[weimy froob]

micah nori is his right hand man. he knows what he's doing.

[Lightning]

there might be a solution to getting Finchy on the sideline sooner than later.

Spoiler: