{"id":891175,"date":"2026-09-14T02:14:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T02:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/891175\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T02:14:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T02:14:10","slug":"wolves-notes-finch-ball-edwards-mcdaniels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/891175\/","title":{"rendered":"Wolves Notes: Finch, Ball, Edwards, McDaniels"},"content":{"rendered":"

Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch came into last season touting the team\u2019s continued growth together. After a flurry of roster changes this summer, Finch is looking forward to merging what continuity remains with a new approach that will hopefully pay off for everyone, according to Finch\u2019s recent interview with Britt R0bson of the Minn Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAyo [Dosunmu]<\/a>\u00a0has not been through a training camp with us. Donte [DiVincenzo] <\/a>is gone for now. Naz [Reid]<\/a> is gone. And obviously we\u2019ve had two massive additions in the starting lineup with LaMelo [Ball]<\/a>and Jonathan [Kuminga]<\/a>,\u201d Finch said, adding that former lead assistant coach Micah Nori is also gone. \u201cBut the tentpoles (Anthony Edwards<\/a>, Rudy Gobert<\/a> and Jaden McDaniels<\/a>) are still here. And we like that. But I think it will be good to take those guys back to the beginning, too. And they\u2019ve got to be part of the journey and impart more knowledge, understanding and expectation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finch noted that defending larger power forwards will be a key place that the team will have to adjust its defensive approach, and added that he was considering taking some of the principles from when the team had Karl-Anthony Towns<\/a> paired with Gobert.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cool thing is that [the changes allow] us to be creative. But it is a balance, because right out of the gate you don\u2019t want to be super-creative, because then you don\u2019t have any foundation,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s the biggest trap.\u201d<\/p>\n

We have more from the Wolves:<\/p>\n

One player who will have a considerable role in how the team shapes up is LaMelo Ball<\/a>. Finch spoke to Robson<\/a> extensively about Ball on both ends of the floor, how he changes things for the team, and how the team can help him shore up some of his weaknesses. The number one focus, he said, was bringing Ball into the culture. \u201cJust getting LaMelo to understand how we do things and the urgency with which that needs to happen,\u201d he said, before adding that it will be crucial for the star point guard to develop a defensive pick-and-roll chemistry with Gobert. \u201cLaMelo has never played with a rim protector like that. But so he has to learn to play with a rim protector like that, too.\u201d\u00a0On the offensive end, he wants Ball to focus more on his approach. \u201d If you want to be a good shooter, the first thing you should do is get rid of the bad shots. He does take some \u2014 and he can make them. But I think he has relied heavily on it,\u201d he said. \u201cThe second piece is the finishing aspect. I think he goes into the paint a lot of the time as a passer, with a passing mentality \u2014 because he is so elite at it \u2026 So we really want him to focus on having a finishing plan, and embracing the contact that comes with finishing down there (at the rim) a little bit more.\u201d
\n\u00a0As for the team\u2019s superstar guard, Finch wants to see more from Edwards on the defensive end now that the team has added a scoring punch around him. \u201cHis on-ball handling duties (on offense) will be reduced, which was probably the most taxing thing for him last year,\u201d Finch said. \u201cI also feel that for him to have an MVP season, he has to have more of a defensive component.\u201d He acknowledged that some of the fault with Edwards not being as impactful on that end as he could be come down to the scheme the team was running. \u201cWhen we\u2019ve had our more aggressive defenses, especially when they were rotation-based, earlier in his career, he was (consistently) good. There may have been a lag time in recognition because he was learning, but he was good. As we\u2019ve gotten away from more rotations, some of the worse habits may have creeped in.\u201d\u00a0Finch also sees Edwards guarding bigger players, naming Zion Williamson<\/a> and Pascal Siakam<\/a> as two forwards Finch felt that Edwards had success guarding.
\nJaden McDaniels<\/a> took a major step forward as a scorer in the Wolves\u2019 2025 playoff run. Finch wants to ensure that he keeps trending in the right direction. \u201cWe need another step (forward) from Jaden,\u201d he said. \u201cWe expect some more opportunities to land in Jaden\u2019s lap. And now he has proven that he is a play-call guy.\u201d He emphasized that he wants to see more from McDaniels as a playmaker, especially in the two-man game with Gobert. \u201cI think he is a really good passer \u2014 he\u2019s one of our best interior passers. And he also has the ability with his size \u2026 to find Rudy. When Rudy first got here they really had a connection. And I think it dried up for a variety of reasons, but more because Jaden was in a mindset to score, because the opportunities were (up and down).\u201d\u00a0Finally, he discussed the possibility of using the talented wing defender as a small-ball center in situations where Gobert and second-year big Joan Beringer<\/a> need reinforcements. Doing so would allow the team to insert another good perimeter defender, though Finch noted he hasn\u2019t made a decision and shouted out Trey Lyles<\/a> as another good option as a versatile small-ball five. \u201cWe did find a lot of zone success with Jaden in the middle in the five; we really like that,\u201d he said. \u201cOpportunities are there because Jaden can be so elite at the rim.\u201c<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch came into last season touting the team\u2019s continued growth together. After a flurry…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":891176,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[20453,64,63,726,172103,62609,12998,60872,85,16098],"class_list":["post-891175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-anthony-edwards","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-chris-finch","tag-jaden-mcdaniels","tag-lamelo-ball","tag-rudy-gobert","tag-sports","tag-trey-lyles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=891175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891175\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/891176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=891175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=891175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=891175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}