Karl-Anthony is ready to take over all the Towns.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Fox Sports North screencap.)
I’m pretty sure that if you tune into the NBA, you have noticed that Karl-Anthony Towns is being a destruction machine on the court. Against Brooklyn, he went for a cool 36-14-3-3-3 line (it went a bit under the radar because Kyrie Irving went for 50 points and nearly made an electrifying game-winner). And against Charlotte? Let’s add 37 points, 15 boards, 8 assists, 2 blocks, and 4 steals. He utterly dominated the Hornets in the third quarter, scoring 17 points in that all-important period.
This feels a little different than his post-All-Star run when he averaged 28.1 points and 13.4 rebounds in the last 20 games. He’s pretty much playing point center where he has the ball up top more and initiates the offense himself. The offense is now basically about maximizing the gifts of Towns and why not? Andrew Wiggins hasn’t been exactly lighting it on fire so now the Wolves will go as far as Towns carries them.
It’s worked so far. Two games is obviously a miniscule sample size. But he’s shooting more from range (11/18 from three so far) and he’s being better about passing out whether it’s to set up someone or if he’s in trouble.
Right now, his defense is still not the greatest. He’ll have his moments but no one is going to confuse him with Rudy Gobert. But he absolutely has all the talent in the world to be that. And if he becomes an excellent defender, he should be a perennial MVP candidate if his offense continues to evolve.
The funny thing was that in his postgame talk with Marney Gellner, Towns said “he played bad.”
37 points, 15 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals, 2 blocks
Karl-Anthony Towns isn’t impressed with his stat line 😂 pic.twitter.com/eSfjQYEYd2
— FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) October 26, 2019
And I get that. He left six points on the free throw line. He talked about missing assignments on defense. At least, he’s conscious about not being very good on the defensive end. Still, it’s one thing to sing it… and it’s another to bring it.
Imagine if Karl-Anthony Towns plays HIS version of good. Woof.
Bullet Passes
*Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum scoring 25 points each is probably what the Celtics pictured with this tandem. Kemba Walker will get it going soon and Gordon Hayward seems to be back at full strength (they talked about the number of drives he had against Philly). I think the Celtics should be fine.
*Kyrie Irving has absolutely been a highlight reel the past few days. This time around, he nails the go-ahead bucket against the Knicks
Again, Kyrie is ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/myBvdFTQ68
— 𝐑𝐞𝐲-𝐑𝐞𝐲 🤞🏾✌🏾 (@TheNoLookPass) October 26, 2019
This team is going to be something when Kevin Durant returns, which is still a year away.
*Zach LaVine had 37 points in a win against the Grizzlies. He got off to a torrid start last year, too. The wins will get him noticed more (although we’ve seen all-stars get selected from awful teams, too).
*Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a hell of a game, scoring 28 points. But on the other side of the coin, Chris Paul only had six points and turned the ball over five times. Uh-oh.
*The Lakers looked dominant in the second half against the Utah Jazz. It was a mere adjustment of putting Anthony Davis in the center position and putting in another ballhandler in Alex Caruso. It definitely worked as the Lakers went to more pick-and-rolls and were able to spread the ball more. And their defense forced the Jazz to cough up the ball 22 times. Disgusting.
*But another disgusting thing going on with the Lakers? Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has not made a field goal in the first two games. He’s always been very up and down from the perimeter and he somehow has the green light to chuck. As far as his defense goes, his reputation is better than the reality. He hasn’t been bad but it’s nothing that’s irreplaceable.
TO THE LEFT. TO THE LEFT.
*Oh, yeah. LeBron James went for 32-7-10, which shows you that he’s definitely washed up. Right?
*I don’t want to leave him out but Luka Doncic had a triple-double and he’s just an incredible player (25-10-10 against the Pelicans).
Watch This Play
Torrey Craig isn’t a sexy name in the league. He’s known for his gritty defense on a team that has Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Paul Millsap (it’s the Denver Nuggets, ya know). But he should get some headlines after making this clutch rotation and block.
Torrey Craig saves the Nuggets from Devin Booker. pic.twitter.com/5Ldlv7kU6e
— 𝐑𝐞𝐲-𝐑𝐞𝐲 🤞🏾✌🏾 (@TheNoLookPass) October 26, 2019
That’s how you preserve an undefeated record.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
TNLP on FaceBook.