The Wolves are performing better than ever in their young history, placed at the top of the Western Conference with 20 victories and 5 defeats. They remain on 9 successes in their last 10 meetings, strong of the best defense in the NBA and impressive maturity.
Within the coaching staff, there is also understanding between Chris Finch and his assistants. Of which Micah Nori, his first luxury assistant. A long-time acquaintance, since the two men were members of Mike Malone's staff in Denver in 2016.
Specialist in hot situations
Specialist in “analytical stats”Nori is the one who advises Finch in the most tense situations, whether it is the end of a possession, or the end of a match.
“As first assistant, he kind of supervises everything we do. But he is the one who directs us especially for special situations, in defense as well as in attack: for the management of the end of the quarter, the management of the end of the match. Replacements…”
A fan of a fluid attacking game full of passes and movements, Nori shares the same vision of things as his direct superior. A synergy of spirit which inevitably weighed when Finch composed his staff upon his arrival in Minnesota in 2021.
“He and I quickly became closer during these countless meetings between coaches [à Denver]. We were always trying to lighten the mood.”recalls Finch in the Minnesota Post. “We have the same sense of humor and the same approach. We have more or less the same vision of things. He always pushed to develop a 'free flow' game. If the clock is ticking, so are we! I've never heard that expression…”
Because Micah Nori has plenty of expressions! Often called upon to react in front of the camera for local TV at the start of the third quarter, Nori has developed his own jargon as his media requests progress.
Expressions of his own
Faced with the domination of Zion Williamson recently, he declared as follows: “KAT was very good but our interior defense was in open mode 7 days a week, 24 hours a day! Especially when Rudy was on the bench because of fouls. »
Against Memphis and Desmond Bane who was giving them trouble at 3-points: “We should treat Bane like we should treat the Leprechaun on the Shelf [The Elf on the Shelf] Christmas morning you have to find it [fissa] ! »
To illustrate in your own way a disastrous end to the first half: “ [Il n’y avait] Nothing, [puis] points in transition. Boom made the dynamite and here is our advance [réduite à néant] ! »
And then, in bulk: “We have to make everyone feel comfortable, like when we heat up the popcorn for Saturday night movie night. »
“We said to ourselves that it was off to a good start [« Oh, it’s on ! Like Donkey Kong ! »] with such a start to the match from them. »
“It’s the first time this year that this has happened to us but we’re really playing backwards at the moment [« Hot Mess Express »] ! »
His sometimes quirky but always refreshing expressions are perhaps a professional distortion, inherited from his pre-match speeches.
Like his conclusion to illustrate one of the defensive schemes for playing against Golden State (see below), when you have to “float” to watch for cuts to the circle on screens without the ball. “The idea against them is the guy, you, the circle”he said, scribbling on his whiteboard!
Nori’s “masterclass” in defending against the Warriors
And this one to defend against Luka Doncic
