You have to see the closed face of Chris Finch a few seconds after the action in question by the Heat. The face of a man aware of having failed tactically. “ I didn't do the right thing. At the end of the match, I didn't manage to do what I needed to do. If I had to go back and do things again, I would definitely do them differently “, admits the coach without batting an eye at a press conference.
Nine seconds from the end of the match against a Heat deprived of Jimmy Butler, his team seemed to have control of the situation with two points in advance. There, at the end of the opposing timeout, the Wolves coach decided to start with Mike Conley, rather than Rudy Gobert.
A choice which could have questioned placing the smallest player to hinder the Heat's throw-in, rather than the tallest. “ I'm pretty good on that side of the court. It's what I do best. I was frustrated, for sure, but those are the decisions. The coach made decisions and we deal with them », notes the Frenchman.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker's hesitation
Finch's decision was notably motivated by the presence of Kevin Love opposite. The Wolves feared a winning shot from the Floridians. “ We wanted to 'switch' everything, prevent them from shooting 3-pointers and we… were beaten on a screen from behind. We didn't change properly and they got us », laments the technician.
At the time of the throw-in, Erik Spoelstra had placed all of his players around the halfway line. Terry Rozier pretended to run to the circle to better go back and set a screen to free Nikola Jovic. This one didn't ask any questions while running to the circle.
The Heat's interior took advantage of the hesitation of Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who initially followed Rozier, too focused on the famous 3-point line. Result, a finish more the fault of the Wolves player. “ It was easy. Spo had a good system in mind. He told me I might have a chance and if I did, I should take it “, remarks the hero (15 points and 7 rebounds) of the evening.
“ I was a little hesitant to go there. At that point, with time remaining and everything else, all bets are off, I guess we just have to roll with it. When I read it late, I probably should have challenged it, but I tried to do something “, defends Alexander-Walker.
A crash in Phoenix
And this is how Miami got back in front in a second, thus erasing, in a comparable context, a poorly executed system a few days earlier on the Suns floor.
“ In Phoenix, we could have gotten a wide open shot, it ended in a loose ball. So this is the worst action. Tonight, we score and they make a mistake, it becomes a 'super action'. It's extremely difficult to generate an open shot on a sideline throw-in. Especially against a well-coached team with size. So we're lucky. Duncan made the right pass, Nico the right cut », summarizes their coach.
The match was not over yet. There were still 4 seconds left for one last Wolves shot. But the latter, short of time-out, were bathed in confusion. Anthony Edwards, who skipped the press after the match, found himself taking the throw-in. Julius Randle called for the leather, finally arriving in the hands of Mike Conley who, open, missed the target.
“ I wanted to launch a system and then I backtracked at the last second. It's my fault. At the end of the match, I have to be clearer on what we are doing on both sides of the pitch », Regrets Finch, whose team won its first two matches when the gap did not exceed three points.
