If all you do is look at box scores and watch highlights you might think this thread is crazy. But if you watch the Wolves nightly like I do then you know what I'm talking about. There are many other reasons for the Wolves struggles. Most significantly their lack of a rim protector on defense. But this problem with Karl-Anthony Towns needs to be addressed as well.
I know all NBA players wanna get their numbers, but I've never seen a star player more obsessed with getting his numbers to the detriment of the team than Karl-Anthony Towns. For such a great young player he can be so frustrating to watch. Let me start with the elephant in the room. His obsession with grabbing rebounds to the detriment of his team's defense. I can't count how many times last night he tried to cheat off his man to try and crash the boards early. Sure he grabbed 22 rebounds but he left Ryan Anderson open so many times on switches cause he would rather grab the potential rebound than challenge an open 3-pointer that is must have cost the Wolves at least 9-12 points. Against teams like the Rockets that have everyone along the 3-point line, grabbing defensive rebounds isn't a priority. Staying with your man and limiting open looks is. His effort last night on defense was embarrassing. Its also embrassing to see him and Dieng fight for boards against each other. You'll be surprised how often this happens if you watch them play regularly.
Now to his offense. Dude is the epitome of a black hole when he gets the ball. If he touches the ball on offense, he's taking a shot 95% of the time. Doesn't matter if he's double or triple teamed. This consistently leads to turnovers and offensive fouls early in games that stagnates Minnesota's offense. The box scores watchers will say "hey he averages 3 assists per game, he's not a black hole on offense." My response "watch the games." Last night he didn't pass the ball once until it got to the 4th quarter and he already had 30 points. Then he realized he needed to get some assists so he started making passes designated to get his 3 assists per game. If all you did was saw the box score at the end of the game you would think Towns was trying to find his teammates more than Wiggins who ended with only 2 assists. Well you would be wrong. Wiggins created so many open shots last night for his teammates that if they hit those open looks he would probably have had 7 assists. Wiggins typically plays a very unselfish game and always looks for the open man when doubled (which is happening more and more now). Compare that to Towns who basically premeditates when he passes and when he doesn't.
Wolves have other flaws but man until Towns learns to let the game and stats come to him rather than chasing them, Minnesota will continue to struggle. He's too talented to be chasing stats like this.
I know all NBA players wanna get their numbers, but I've never seen a star player more obsessed with getting his numbers to the detriment of the team than Karl-Anthony Towns. For such a great young player he can be so frustrating to watch. Let me start with the elephant in the room. His obsession with grabbing rebounds to the detriment of his team's defense. I can't count how many times last night he tried to cheat off his man to try and crash the boards early. Sure he grabbed 22 rebounds but he left Ryan Anderson open so many times on switches cause he would rather grab the potential rebound than challenge an open 3-pointer that is must have cost the Wolves at least 9-12 points. Against teams like the Rockets that have everyone along the 3-point line, grabbing defensive rebounds isn't a priority. Staying with your man and limiting open looks is. His effort last night on defense was embarrassing. Its also embrassing to see him and Dieng fight for boards against each other. You'll be surprised how often this happens if you watch them play regularly.
Now to his offense. Dude is the epitome of a black hole when he gets the ball. If he touches the ball on offense, he's taking a shot 95% of the time. Doesn't matter if he's double or triple teamed. This consistently leads to turnovers and offensive fouls early in games that stagnates Minnesota's offense. The box scores watchers will say "hey he averages 3 assists per game, he's not a black hole on offense." My response "watch the games." Last night he didn't pass the ball once until it got to the 4th quarter and he already had 30 points. Then he realized he needed to get some assists so he started making passes designated to get his 3 assists per game. If all you did was saw the box score at the end of the game you would think Towns was trying to find his teammates more than Wiggins who ended with only 2 assists. Well you would be wrong. Wiggins created so many open shots last night for his teammates that if they hit those open looks he would probably have had 7 assists. Wiggins typically plays a very unselfish game and always looks for the open man when doubled (which is happening more and more now). Compare that to Towns who basically premeditates when he passes and when he doesn't.
Wolves have other flaws but man until Towns learns to let the game and stats come to him rather than chasing them, Minnesota will continue to struggle. He's too talented to be chasing stats like this.
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This is only his second season lets give him a chance to learn not everyone gets to go to the spurs.
