Since Chris Finch had surgery on Wednesday following his serious right knee injury, it is quite possible that the Wolves will not have their head coach on their bench to start the semi-final against Denver, whose Game 1 is scheduled for this Saturday. Already promoted to the position of “head coach” during a regular season match, against Cleveland on March 9, Micah Nori could therefore take over. Firstly because the Wolves assistant is an old hand on the NBA circuit, but also because he is a former member of Michael Malone's staff in Denver!
With the Nuggets between 2015 and 2018, Micah Nori was able to build very strong bonds with Nikola Jokic in particular. He still sends him “gifs” of Forrest Gump, in memory of his fruitless trips to the Summer League, when the great Serb was behind Emmanuel Mudiay, Gary Harris and Jusuf Nurkic in the hierarchy…
“First and foremost, he is an unfriendly person”smiles Nikola Jokic. “He’s brutally honest but still funny. He's going to tell you your four truths, but in a fun way. That's what makes it so interesting. And also funny! »
For Anthony Edwards, Micah Nori “is a genius”
Passionate about baseball, which he played during his years at university, Micah Nori was then caught up with the orange ball through a family friend, a certain Butch Carter, then a coach in Toronto. Recruited in 2009 as a full-time assistant, after a brief adventure with the Hoosiers (in baseball), he spent four years in the Canadian megalopolis before joining Mike Malone in Sacramento (in 2013), then in Denver (in 2015).
Specifically, Micah Nori moved into the same building as Butch Carter in Toronto and lived there for two years. The two men spent more than one evening dissecting offensive and defensive systems to perfect the young assistant's knowledge.
“We were making video and he was commenting on everything out loud. It was amazing because he allowed me to ask any question. He helped me enormously in my learning of the League. »
Known for his funny sayings and his juicy analyses, which even became a game with his daughter and his Wolves colleagues, Micah Nori has however proven himself on the field. “Micah is a genius”, Anthony Edwards blows. “ [Une fois], he came to a timeout and said, 'They're going to play this system, get ready for that!' And for good reason, that’s what they did. Just what Micah predicted! »
Experienced staff
After a first round last season, this new confrontation with the Nuggets, in the semi-final of the Western Conference, is tasty in more than one way because it is precisely in the Rockies that the two thinking heads of the Wolves, Chris Finch and Micah Nori, met in 2016.
Specialist in advanced stats, Micah Nori is the one who advises Chris Finch in the most tense situations, whether it is the end of a possession, or the end of a match. The two men share the same playing philosophy, based on movement with and without the ball. The absence of the first should therefore not penalize the team too much, knowing that their second is still faithful to the position.
“We have a lot of talent in our coaching staff”declared Chris Finch last week. “They are probably the most experienced and creative staff I have worked with. We work extremely well together. There is no ego. No parochial quarrels, no one takes it badly when an idea is followed or not. »
The Wolves can also count on Elston Turner, an old hand on the circuit since after playing in the league, he has been an assistant there since the mid-90s. Without forgetting Pablo Prigioni.
Familiar with the Denver game, and in particular its two leaders, Micah Nori could therefore well play a leading role behind the scenes in this series which promises to be explosive.
“He can sometimes play the role of the funny guy, but when it counts, he can answer the call”concludes Nikola Jokic. “He knows his job and he is very well prepared. He is ready for anything. »
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Anthony Edwards | 79 | 35.1 | 46.1 | 35.7 | 83.6 | 0.7 | 4.8 | 5.4 | 5.1 | 3.1 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 25.9 |
| Karl Anthony Towns | 62 | 32.7 | 50.4 | 41.6 | 87.3 | 1.5 | 6.8 | 8.3 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 3.3 | 21.8 |
| Rudy Gobert | 76 | 34.1 | 66.1 | 0.0 | 63.8 | 3.8 | 9.2 | 12.9 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 3.1 | 14.0 |
| Naz Reid | 81 | 24.2 | 47.7 | 41.4 | 73.6 | 0.9 | 4.3 | 5.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 13.5 |
| Mike Conley | 76 | 28.9 | 45.7 | 44.2 | 91.1 | 0.5 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 5.9 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 11.4 |
| Jaden Mcdaniels | 72 | 29.2 | 48.9 | 33.7 | 72.2 | 0.8 | 2.3 | 3.1 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 3.0 | 10.5 |
| Nickeil Alexander-walker | 82 | 23.4 | 43.9 | 39.1 | 80.0 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 8.0 |
| Kyle Anderson | 79 | 22.6 | 46.0 | 22.9 | 70.8 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 4.2 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 6.4 |
| Monte Morris | 27 | 15.1 | 41.7 | 42.4 | 70.6 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 5.1 |
| Shake Milton | 38 | 12.9 | 40.0 | 26.4 | 81.8 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 4.7 |
| Troy Brown, Jr. | 37 | 11.1 | 44.1 | 36.9 | 86.4 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 4.2 |
| Luka Garza | 25 | 4.9 | 48.0 | 28.1 | 72.0 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 |
| Tj Warren | 11 | 11.3 | 43.9 | 15.4 | 75.0 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 3.7 |
| Jordan McLaughlin | 56 | 11.2 | 48.3 | 47.2 | 72.2 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 3.5 |
| Daishen Nix | 15 | 3.3 | 37.5 | 35.3 | 50.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.8 |
| Leonard Miller | 17 | 3.1 | 65.0 | 40.0 | 50.0 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 1.7 |
| Josh Minott | 32 | 2.9 | 47.2 | 40.0 | 85.7 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 1.6 |
| Wendell Moore, Jr. | 25 | 3.0 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.7 |
| Justin Jackson | 2 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
