Timberwolves coach Chris Finch offers rare public criticism of Julius Randle in latest loss

MINNEAPOLIS — Drastic instances name for drastic measures.

The Minnesota Timberwolves’ loss to Portland on Friday night time had many acquainted components. The Wolves received off to a different sluggish begin, one thing that has plagued them for a lot of the season. They had been killed on the offensive glass and had some premature turnovers in opposition to an under-.500 group on their house flooring.

However, there was one thing new that got here out of the 108-104 loss, as Wolves coach Chris Finch supplied some rare, blunt assessments of Julius Randle’s efficiency.

The Wolves led 104-103 with 35 seconds to play. But the Blazers received two offensive rebounds on their subsequent possession, which ended in a 3-pointer from Jerami Grant to place Portland up for good, a vital house loss for the Wolves simply as their schedule is about to get notably daunting.

Portland grabbed 18 offensive rebounds, resulting in 22 second-chance factors. Randle, who’s averaging a career-low 6.8 rebounds per recreation, grabbed solely 5 of them in opposition to the Blazers. Just three of these had been on protection.

“All’s we gotta do, we’re up 104-103 and all we have to do is get a rebound and we can’t,” Finch lamented. “There’s like a lag time from the time the shot goes and we take a breath and we look up. They’re flying around and we’re delayed in our reactions. It’s been that way for a while. It’s just not good enough.

“We knew our guards wanted to rebound. Ayo (Dosunmu) did a very good job on the defensive glass. Rudy (Gobert) did a very good job, however after that, we have got to have extra rebounding. Julius has three defensive rebounds. That’s not adequate. It’s simply not adequate.”

In their two years together, Finch has never been critical of Randle in public. The two have a close relationship, dating back to their days together in New Orleans, built on trust and belief in each other. There are candid conversations between the two during film sessions, at practice or in huddles during games. But Finch understands that Randle best responds to support expressed in his interviews and postgame press conferences. He knows Randle felt burned on the finish in New York, and his empowering method paid off in a better way in the playoffs final season.

The mercurial Randle had been on an upswing of late, scoring 32 factors in back-to-back video games in opposition to Oklahoma City and Phoenix and spearheading a rout of Utah on Wednesday night time. So for Finch to decide on to publicly criticize Randle’s play after this recreation speaks to the desperation he feels.

At 43-28, Minnesota is tied with Denver in the West, though the Nuggets maintain the tiebreaker. The Wolves are 3 1/2 video games forward of seventh-place Phoenix with 12 video games to play, making the Play-In Tournament unlikely for them, however not unattainable. They are in a digital tie with Houston (42-27) for fourth place, which might give them home-court benefit in the primary spherical of the playoffs.

Watching the Wolves come out flat in opposition to the Blazers, giving up 68 factors in the primary half and turning the ball over 5 instances in the primary quarter, apparently was sufficient for Finch to go someplace he hardly ever goes.

Randle didn’t argue with Finch’s evaluation.

“Just gotta go get the ball,” he mentioned. “Sometimes it’s not tactical or all that stuff. We just gotta go get the ball out of the air. They are quicker to the ball than us right now. We shouldn’t lose games from rebounding.”

But they do. The Wolves are fifteenth in the NBA in second-chance factors allowed. Only 5 groups behind them have successful data. They are seventeenth in defensive rebound proportion, and twenty fourth over the past 15 video games. Only Utah, Portland, Brooklyn, Golden State, Washington and Memphis are worse in that span. They are seventeenth in protection over the past 10 video games, an inexcusable quantity for a group with Gobert in the center.

The backbreaker got here on Grant’s 3, which was generated after Deni Avdija chased down a miss. Had the Wolves secured both of the 2 obtainable rebounds on that possession, they’d be the No. 4 seed proper now.

“That one rebound, not to say that’s why we lost, but you get down in these games and they’re one-possession games, two-possession games and you’re giving a team three, four, five opportunities to get a crack at it,” mentioned Dosunmu, who had 17 factors, 10 rebounds and eight assists. “They’re high-level players and they can hit you where it hurts.”

Gobert had 18 factors and 15 rebounds on Friday, however he did not escape blame, both. He had main issues with Blazers heart Donovan Clingan in the primary half, surrendering 17 factors and 11 rebounds to him because the Blazers constructed an 18-point lead. Clingan had simply 4 factors and one rebound in the second half, however the changes got here a little bit too late.

Grant’s 3 put the Blazers up 106-104, however the Timberwolves had the ball and an opportunity to tie or take the lead with 22 seconds left. Finch mentioned he drew up a play for Randle, however Portland’s dogged protection blew it up. So the ball ended in Donte DiVincenzo’s palms, and he drove to the rim and flicked a contested layup towards the rim. It was off the mark, and Gobert had two possibilities to tie the sport, however he missed each tip-ins and the Wolves misplaced one other vital recreation.

“I should’ve came down with two hands and secured the ball first,” Gobert mentioned. “But I’ve made those tip-ins before, too. In the heat of the moment, I thought the tip-in was the best option. Watching it, securing the ball with two hands, then I get into position to go back up and maybe get an and-1.”

Gobert tends to attempt to bat the ball in the air to retain possession. But Finch mentioned that was the unsuitable method at the moment.

“Rudy had a good chance on the rebound, but instead of playing volleyball, go grab that thing,” Finch mentioned. “Then maybe they foul you or something like that. We got two looks at the basket.”

Finch has to take some possession as nicely. The Wolves didn’t have Anthony Edwards (knee) or Naz Reid (ankle) obtainable for the sport, however Bones Hyland was in a groove with 17 factors in 22 minutes. DiVincenzo had struggled for a lot of the night time, going 3-for-12 from 3-point vary. However, on the ultimate offensive possession, when the Wolves wanted a bucket, Finch saved DiVincenzo in the sport reasonably than going again to Hyland, a greater ballhandler and shot creator.

Finch additionally wants to determine why his group comes out flat so typically. The Wolves trailed by seven in the primary quarter and fell behind 66-48 with two minutes to go in the second quarter.

“I think it’s more mental. I don’t think it’s physical,” Gobert mentioned. “So maybe the warmup or whatever we do, just being out the gate, fired up out the gate so we can get to a great start. It changes everything when we do that.”

The Wolves held Portland to 40 factors in the second half, however they shot 39.6 % from the sector and 32 % from 3 and scored simply 18 factors in the fourth quarter, letting an vital recreation slip away.

“We feel like we gave the game away,” Randle mentioned.

They have achieved that so much this season, which is why they’re in such a canine struggle proper now. They play at Boston on Sunday, then come house for video games in opposition to Houston and Detroit. Six of their ultimate eight video games are on the highway.

“You gotta be able to bounce back, but it is definitely frustrating because you understand the magnitude and significance of every play, every game,” Dosunmu mentioned.