It hasn’t been the perfect start for the Minnesota Timberwolves this season. They stand with a 6-6 record after losing to the Portland Trail Blazers in back-to-back contests on the road. With the season only being 12 games in, the Timberwolves are still trying to find cohesiveness together as a team. It’s clear that they’re not there yet ,and head coach Chris Finch had some things to say about it following their loss to the Trail Blazers Wednesday night.
Chris Finch Sounds off on Wolves Struggles
Timberwolves Offense is a Turnover Nightmare
Following Wednesday night’s loss, the Timberwolves are averaging 16.8 turnovers a game (5th most in the NBA). It’s an obvious red flag the team needs to clean up as the season progresses.
“It’s been the story of our season offensively,” head coach Chris Finch said.
The Timberwolves turned the ball over 21 times against the Trail Blazers Tuesday night. Many of those turnovers Finch said were preventable and due to carelessness. He shared what the team needs to do to limit those turnovers.
“We got to get into more structure, I think sometimes we lose our structure, I think guys are trying to make these high risk plays a lot, way too much, you got to make the simple play.”
While they did a better job of taking care of the ball the following night, it’s something they need to be consistent about. That’s not the only thing holding the Timberwolves back though.
It’s time to dig into the bench
Losing back-to-back games against the Trail Blazers while making no noticeable adjustments is an eyeopener.The Wolves typically run an eight man rotation most nights. Sometimes, they go to nine men which doesn’t leave a lot of minutes on the table for their bench.
This is the time for the Timberwolves to really dive into their bench. Naz Reid has continued to shine in his role, but there are other players that could help the Wolves. Rob Dillingham has yet to see major minutes yet, only appearing in five games this season. The likely successor to 37-year-old Mike Conley has yet to carve a consistent role for himself, but it’s time for him to see the floor.
Coach Finch had this to say about the possibility of expanding his bench.
“Trying to get another guy in the rotation when guys aren’t playing well enough so it opens up opportunities for that to happen.”
Conley was out in Wednesday’s game against the Trail Blazers which allowed Dillingham to get some minutes. He likely won’t solve the Timberwolves turnover problem, but he can relieve Conley in spurts, and it might be something Finch considers in the future.
It’s Time for the Wolves to Turn the Tide
It’s time for the Wolves to get back on track and find cohesiveness to help them win games. The rest of the month will be a true test with teams like the Celtics, Suns, and Rockets coming up. It starts with Anthony Edwards. During the Wolves three-game losing streak he is shooting a combined 26-68 from the field (38.2%). When Ant struggles, others need to step up in order to win. Mix that in with the amount of defensive lapses the team has had, makes it difficult for them to win games.
“To win at the highest level all of those lapses have to go away for everybody,” Finch said.
An example of this was against the Miami Heat when the Timberwolves gave up a layup to Nikola Jović which led to a free throw to ice the game. There’s still time for the Wolves to figure out rotations and defensive schemes, but they have to build on good habits now rather than later. They face the Sacramento Kings tonight, and we’ll have to see if this is where the tides will turn.
