RandBall: Specific Game 2 criticism of Wolves coach Chris Finch is justified

I got a surprising lesson on how frustrated Wolves fans are with head coach Chris Finch on Thursday after posting this on social media in the midst of a 118-103 loss to Oklahoma City:

“This is just bull-headed stubbornness on Finch’s part to still only be playing eight guys when half of them are playing this poorly.”

It was a specific critique of how one game was going, and perhaps a nod to a Finch tendency to be set in his ways and rotations — an overall weakness at times.

But I also thought most of us had a shared subtext: Disagree or not with a specific decision in a big game, Finch is the most accomplished coach in Timberwolves history. He has led them to four straight playoff appearances and two consecutive Western Conference finals after nearly two decades of basketball dysfunction.

And before this series with the Thunder started, the Wolves had won 25 of their last 31 games (including eight of 10 in the playoffs).

Plenty of Wolves fans, though, were either caught up in the moment or carrying lingering resentments over previous perceived grievances.

The chorus of “FIRE FINCH” was loud in the replies to my post, as was casual speculation that new owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez will seek to replace Finch this offseason with a higher-profile coach.

All of that should be considered preposterous, as I talked about on Friday’s Daily Delivery podcast.

If we keep our eye on the ball, though, hopefully, a lot of us can find a more narrow common ground on Finch.

Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid are good players who had rough games Thursday.

Finch is a good coach who had a rough game Thursday, too.

The two things are related.

While it is plausible to defend Finch playing just his usual eight guys by acknowledging they are his top eight and most trusted players and that he would look a lot smarter if they had performed better, the reality is that their struggles were so pronounced (and in the case of all but Randle extended to Game 1 of the series as well) that trying new combinations was warranted.

Terrence Shannon Jr. has been an offensive spark at various points this season, including a 17-point burst in a comeback win over Oklahoma City in February. Jaylen Clark is a defensive bulldog who has made Shai Gilgeous-Alexander uncomfortable and who can make winning hustle plays on offense.

Yes, there’s a risk to putting young players into a critical game against a team that thrives on defensive chaos and can go on a 10-0 run faster than Gobert can touch his toes.

But not doing anything can be just as damaging and reckless as trying something new in a big moment, which was proven as Oklahoma City (again) pulled away in the third quarter.

Finch should have gone to one or both of them Thursday before the game got out of hand.

But sorry to the most extreme folks: There’s a pretty good chance the coach with the most playoff wins in franchise history will still be coaching Saturday when the series shifts back to Target Center and in October when next season starts as well.