There's a reason why the Suns went 3-0 in the regular season with the Timberwolves, and the Timberwolves should be the Suns' ideal opponent compared to other teams in the playoffs. The Timberwolves' strong point is the inside basket, but the Suns' offense just doesn't need to go inside, and all three of their main attackers with the ball can finish through the middle and long distance, perfectly avoiding the Timberwolves' strongest point. In addition, Nurkic's presence and his blocking can also effectively interfere with the pursuit of Edwards and Jaden. And the old Conley is bound to face one of the Big Three, and this point is also the absolute advantage of the Suns.
On the other hand, the Timberwolves' offense, the Suns' size problem will be grasped, but the Timberwolves' starting lineup space is poor, which is why their offensive season can only rank in the middle and lower reaches of the league (17th in the league in offensive efficiency). With big men on the inside and non-space points, the team's offense is difficult to play. Even if the Suns' defensive intensity is limited, the Timberwolves' ceiling on the offensive end will not be very high due to the influence of their own lineup.
His own strengths were perfectly avoided by the opponent, and the opponent's weaknesses could not be played by himself, which is why the Timberwolves were swept by the Suns in the regular season. The final game of the regular season may not be intentional for the Timberwolves, but it is really just that they can't be beaten. Although the Timberwolves are the team in the top half, considering the regular season head-to-head record and the actual situation of the two teams, the Timberwolves are the side that needs to adjust first.
Defensively, Finch can't afford to play the same regular-season strategy. Is there a possibility that Gobert will be delayed or switched directly? The Suns' ball-handler has a very good offensive ability, but his ability to find teammates is average, and like teammates have some fleeting open opportunities, they may not be able to pass the ball out. And Nurkic's finishing under the basket is very average, his downward threat is not so great, and the ability to handle the ball when he encounters help defense is even less, so even if the ball handler can take advantage of Gobert's delay to pass the ball out, the Suns' subsequent offense may not be very threatening. Swap back immediately after a big delay to test Gobert's mobility, and also need the Timberwolves' subsequent rotation to be in place. If you change the defense directly, on the one hand, it will test Gobert's ability to defend big and small, and on the other hand, it will also test the Timberwolves' ability to shrink the basket on the wing and in the bottom corner.
If you want to adjust, Finch has to try it in G1, after all, they have a home advantage, G1 still has a tolerance for error, there is room for trial and error. You can't wait for G1 to lose and G2 adjusts, then the series will be dangerous.
Of course, Finch is not completely out of the box if he doesn't adjust the Timberwolves, the Suns' starting lineup does have an advantage, but their lineup is completely disadvantaged in the transition period, especially in the interior center. Euban's size is not as big as Nurkic, his cover quality is the breakthrough, the Timberwolves' lead defender can squeeze the cover to chase the ball, and it is not easy for the Big Three to single Edwards and Jaden through one-on-one. As for the Timberwolves' own connection section, Reid is an absolute strong point, and the Suns, who lack rotation, have no resources to counter Reed.
Personally, I still tend to make adjustments in G1, and if Finch is a little bolder, he can even consider directly letting Reed start in place of Gobert and put on the strongest offensive lineup. Maybe the intensity of the defensive end will decrease, but after all, the Suns are a ball-handling team, their offensive basket production is limited, and Jaden and Edwards also have a certain ability to help protect the basket, and without Gobert, the Suns may not be able to break the Timberwolves' basket. The transition section is letting Towns play with Gobert, Lee Kyle, and Walker, and this lineup is completely worthy of the Suns' transition section. It may not be realistic to directly substitute Gobert, but playing a fake starter, or not letting it go in the closing stages, will definitely appear in one of the series.
In addition, the Timberwolves are a younger team, and when the big man is not there, they need to play faster, to bring out their vitality, and to put more momentum and hard work into the game.
The Timberwolves may be the team in the league that has a big interior core (with absolute strength on the inside) that they don't want to meet, the Nuggets, Lakers, 76ers and the Bucks, these teams should not want to meet the Timberwolves, and the Suns are all outside attackers with the ball, but they are not afraid of the Timberwolves. And because of the size problem, the Suns' defense should have been caught, but the Timberwolves were limited by themselves on the offensive end because of space problems, and they couldn't hit the Suns' shortcomings. However, this is how the two teams met, maybe this is the providence in the dark!