Frederick: After blowout loss, all options should be on table for Finch and Timberwolves in Game 6
As frustrating as Minnesota’s Game 5 loss was Tuesday in San Antonio, it also should be freeing for Wolves coach Chris Finch and his staff. A second Spurs blowout in a four-game span solidfies what many believed heading into this series — Minnesota is not as good as San Antonio. At least not under these circumstances, with Anthony Edwards playing at far less than 100% and Donte DiVincenzo out for the remainder of the playoffs and beyond.
The Wolves’ wins in this series came at the horn of Game 1 and in a Game 4 in which Victor Wembanyama was ejected in the second quarter. In the aggregate, San Antonio has out-scored Minnesota by 67 points in this series. Game 2 was Minnesota’s largest blowout defeat in franchise playoff victory, and Game 5 wasn’t far behind.
Yet, somehow, the Wolves aren’t dead yet. There will be a Game 6 at 8:30 p. m.
CDT on Friday in Minneapolis. Minnesota still stands just two wins away from a third straight Western Conference Finals. But it doesn’t feel as though the Wolves will get there with the status quo.
If there is a formula for victory with the current rotations and lineups, it’s apparently too difficult to carryout over the course of multiple games. But there is power in knowledge. Finch and his staff are armed with a growing data set that suggests Minnesota’s modus operandi doesn’t work and empowers the Wolves to make a change or five.