Why is Chris Finch not coaching Timberwolves tonight? Latest update on COY candidate’s absence vs Cavaliers (March 8)

The Minnesota Timberwolves will play the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight, without Chris Finch, as part of their six-game road trip. The Wolves are coming off a 113-111 win against the Indiana Pacers, that shook the league after Anthony Edwards' game-winning block. However, they will not be with their head coach tonight.

The Wolves are the best team in the Western Conference standings this season. Thanks to the brilliance of Finch's system and the emergence of Edwards' star potential. They've won 44 games and are looking to win more games as the season progresses.

Minnesota won't have their head coach tonight as he deals with an illness. Finch has been the team's vocal courtside leader. His system has helped the team become the top-ranked defensive organization this season.

The head coach has been with the team since 2021.

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Who will replace Chris Finch tonight?

According to sources, assistant coach for the Timberwolves Micah Nori will be stepping up in place of Chris Finch. Nori has been a longtime assistant coach for the team since his hiring in 2021.

He started as a scout for the Toronto Raptors in 1998. He stayed with the Raptors as a scout until 2009. Nori became an assistant coach under Jay Triano in the same year. He then assisted Dwane Casey in coaching the Raptors from 2011 until 2013.

Nori bounced around the league as an assistant coach, joining the Sacramento Kings in 2013. He joined Mike Malone's coaching staff in the Denver Nuggets from 2015 until 2018. The assistant coach reunited with Casey when he joined the coaching staff for the Detroit Pistons in 2018.

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Chris Finch's coaching record in the NBA

The Timberwolves is the first team that Finch has gotten a chance to lead as a head coach. Since the 2021-22 season, he's developed a winning culture within the team. Overall, he's had a 143-117 record in the span of 260 games. This year's Minnesota team is the best he's had as they're atop the standings.

Chris Finch has been around the league for quite some time. He started his career in the NBA in 2011 when he became an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets. Finch worked under Kevin McHale's system until 2015. He was later named as associate head coach after the firing.

Finch also joined Malone in Denver during the 2016-17 season before moving on to the New Orleans Pelicans the following season. In 2020, Finch was hired as an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors under Nick Nurse. His first head coaching job came after he was hired by the Wolves in 2021.