Chris Finch has been talking about flow for years.
After a Minnesota Timberwolves loss, he will often mention the lack of flow in the offense. On practice days, he will usually comment about Minnesota’s need to trust the flow. He mentions it so much that I’ve mentally likened him to Obi-Wan Kenobi from Episode IV: A New Hope, desperately trying to help Luke Skywalker and Han Solo understand the force.
Finch has been going on for years. That is, up until the start of this season. Could the 2025-26 season be the year the Wolves embrace and believe in the mystical flow Finch is preaching?
Let’s define flow. It’s not mid-ichlorian counts in the bloodstream — Star Wars’ worst decision ever. Instead, the flow is how Finch describes his version of ball movement, play style, and a player’s ability to stay in the scheme.
High-usage isolation players like Julius Randle and Anthony Edwards stress-test Finch’s scheme. So do Rudy Gobert’s offensive limitations. Still, throughout his time in Houston, Denver, and New Orleans, his flow system is much more similar to the Golden State Warriors’ than to the Wolves’. Finch has always preached ball and player movement to open up shots.
However, it seems different this year. Statistically, Minnesota’s offense appears to be similar. They currently rank fifth in the NBA with a 120.0 offensive rating, only 1.7 points behind the best offense. That has translated into an eighth-best net rating of 4.8. While these are positive signs, their offense hasn’t come as much through the high-ball movement style that Finch prefers.
They currently rank 22nd in assist percentage (percentage of baskets coming off assists) at 61.1%, and their 1.77 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks only 13th. Both of these statistics are down from last season, in which they posted 63.7 and 1.81. Minnesota’s 61.1% assist percentage is the lowest it has posted since 2022-23.
Minnesota’s other advanced stats display a similar picture. Their assist percentage is down roughly 2.0% across all shot types, and their isolation percentage has risen this season. The Wolves run the third-most isolation plays in the NBA. 9.6% of their plays are isos, up from 7.8% a year ago.
So, why then does the offense seem so much different?
Truth be told, the Timberwolves are significantly better in isolation attempts, averaging 1.13 points per isolation, which ranks first in the league, up from 0.87 last season. The Wolves scored 7.6 points out of isolation last season, up to 12.1, while only running approximately 2 more isolation plays per game.
Edwards is averaging 1.07 points per isolation play and has the second-highest frequency of isolation use in the NBA at 27.5% of his plays. However, Julius Randle has been sensational, running 18.6% of his total offense out of isolation and averaging 1.46 points per play, which ranks second in the league.
Looking back at last season again, Edwards averaged 0.91 points per isolation, while Randle averaged 0.79. Their increase in production in isolation has been the primary reason the offense has looked significantly better.
Secondarily, Minnesota has also shot lights-out off of these isolations. The Wolves are shooting 38.0% off catch-and-shoot threes and 37.3% on above-the-break threes (ranks second in the NBA), with 80.4% of their three-point makes coming off assists.
It’s difficult to say whether Minnesota’s newfound production is related to a Jedi mind trick that Finch has pulled off to convince his players to believe in the flow, or more to the jump in isolation production that both Edwards and Randle have shown. Regardless of the cause, Minnesota’s offense is different this year, and a top-five offense sets a new ceiling for a team that made it to back-to-back Western Conference Finals last year.