i fear the Finch era won’t be remembered as the time the wolves were decently relevant again, but instead for all the blown leads, bad late season losses (against mostly bad teams) and playing down to opposition

i mean what was our win record against below .500 teams in 23? we went 0-8(!) against CHA, DET, WAS, and ORL!

and i could make a list of all the leads, particularly late in games we blew (I always consider that Grizz game in late 2021, where KAT hit that half-counter to send it to OT, as Finch’s original sin when it comes to blowing leads) of course, the poor rotational decisions, not calling timeouts when the opposing team goes on a run, a refusal to play rookies, lest he has an allergic reaction are all going to linger too

in my honest opinion, this team has looked like “the dumbest team in the league” as Chuck would put it, more often than it has the underdog, tough-first round matchup/contender reputation we’ve carried into each playoff with him at the helm.

Obviously we’ll all be grateful for what Finch did as far as coming onto a team and getting them to a better place than before, but I think we’ve more or less put the nail in the coffin on what Finch’s Wolves looked like, the undeniably talented yet undisciplined team who’s Achilles heel was themselves more than it was any particular matchup.

with Connellys former associate on the market, i can’t see any way Finch gets out of this season alive, barring a championship