With a player like Anthony Edwards in its ranks, the Minnesota franchise could be tempted to play the speed card to the fullest. But the Wolves, already in the Top 10 teams the most dangerous in transition last seasonwant to be careful.
Noting that his team only had the 23rd best offensive efficiency in the league (114 points on average per 100 possessions), Chris Finch rethought his approach by wanting to inject more structure.
“(The act of structuring) can slow down a little, but we are not the fastest team in the world. This may hamper creativity, but nothing will be too elaborate. You just need to put a starting structure in place. We have problems when we don’t have a good game structure to start an attack “, believes the Wolves coach who, in addition to the speed of his new figurehead, of course has the option of the placed game to serve his interior pair, Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert.
“ We want to play fast, get out there and run, but the other thing we say is that you can’t kill yourself running. It’s a bit like a structured race where you say: ‘Here are your positions and here’s what we do’. It’s a bit weird. It’s almost like settings with freedom. It’s about trying to find the right balance, that is to say not being a team that runs, that runs, that runs, but also not wanting to be a team that slows down. », Develops his assistant Micah Nori.
To find the right tempo, the Minnesota players will therefore rely on the managerial qualities of Mike Conley. He considers that “ structure can sometimes be a constraint, but it is necessary in certain scenarios. If some players tend to be a little wild with the ball in hand, it’s good to have some structure to say, ‘Hey, you and you do this.’ »
And thus avoid potential ball losses. Last year, with 15 turnovers, the Wolves were one of the most wasteful teams in the league.
Establishing basic principles also makes decision-making more fluid. Mike Conley says he evolved in training where he had to refer to the coach before each action: “ We looked at him to know what to do. When you have a good general on the floor, you don’t need that. »
Chris Finch is thus convinced of the benefit of setting a course for his players: “ These basic structures will help us. »
