With Julius Randle, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch presses right buttons

Julius Randle was a bit of a mess to open the second half of Championship against Golden State on Thursday in Minneapolis The forward committed two turnovers missed a -point attempt and failed to get back in transition in a three-plus minute stretch that helped the Warriors get back into the meeting Timberwolves coach Chris Finch gave Randle a quick hook sending the forward to the bench for the next two minutes of action much to Randle s dismay which was evident in the veteran s body language I just had to get that out I had to get that out For me it was like being frustrated Randle commented Obviously Finch was frustrated to start the quarter myself personally with two turnovers and whatever was going on with our association Me being a competitor I want to stay out there and right the ship But it didn t necessarily go like that I was a little hot but for me personally that s just another way he challenges me Finch explained he just yearned Randle to settle down and play The time on the bench was brief Randle spent it thinking about how he wished to channel his frustrations into something positive for the Wolves and it exactly what occurred Randle came back in and took over the contest tallying six assists over the final six-plus minutes of the quarter to help Minnesota gain a -point advantage by frame s end in a a runaway conquest to square up the series Give him a minute to think about things regroup Finch announced And he came back in and was awesome It was another proper button pushed by the man at the controls Fans often belabor Finch s usage of timeouts or lack thereof but there is little to question re his participant management Finch publicly called out Anthony Edwards approach after Minnesota s Contest loss to open the series You re the leader of the unit You ve got to come out and set the tone Finch declared If your shot is not going you still have to carry the potential If I ve got to talk to guys about having the right ability coming into an opening second-round challenge then we re not on the same page That quote caught the eyes of national onlookers but it s consistent with the tone Finch has set within the organization since his arrival in No one is immune to his criticism if the coach doesn t feel the players are meeting the standard from Edwards on down Mike Conley noted Finch challenges every single guy in film sessions Nobody s exempt from that Conley mentioned Guys respond For evidence look no further than Minnesota s playoff performances this spring The Wolves have delivered two stinkers in Championship against the Lakers and in Challenge of the conference semifinals last Tuesday Each loss has been followed by significantly better basketball After getting rolled by the Warriors without leader Stephen Curry for the greater part of the competition Finch cussed us out pretty well He was unhappy and he let us know he was unhappy and we felt that Randle reported after Thursday s Championship achievement We were pretty motivated as a band he noted Thursday The thing I like about Finch is personally for myself he can coach me hard I might not like it in the moment or whatever it is but I love that he can challenge me like that Other day we re in the film room he challenged me multiple times on things that he saw from an effort standpoint I required to make a point to come out and play with a high amount of potential a high amount of effort and respond to that challenge not really necessarily take it personally That stems from the relationships Finch makes sure to build with his players Randle can be called out by Finch when he errs because he knows that ultimately his coach has his back No one praised Randle more profusely unprompted for his performance in the first-round series against the Lakers than Finch Another guy who s had a lot of unfair criticism in his career and he was outstanding on both ends of the floor Finch commented after Minnesota s series-clinching supremacy We don t win this series without him That didn t go unnoticed by Randle That s my guy Randle mentioned I reported y all from the very beginning when I got traded here Obviously new crew new teammates but the No thing I was excited for was being able to come back and play for Finch It s been everything and more just his trust and belief in me the ability to adjust throughout the season We don t necessarily have the prototypical roster or whatever but he finds a way to put everybody in positions of strength His ability to do that and trust me throughout the year is huge I ve had a great time playing for him Related Articles Nickeil Alexander-Walker met Timberwolves challenge in Battle One fan was ejected for comments made to Draymond Green in Challenge as Wolves study continues Mizutani It s obvious the Timberwolves won t need their best to win this series Timberwolves blast Warriors bench for Championship triumph You know it s a playoff series when both coaches cry Foul