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Minnesota Timberwolves: Expectations For Karl-Anthony Towns’ Rookie Season

By Nathan Grubel

Jun 26, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves number one overall draft pick Karl-Anthony Towns addresses the media at Mayo Clinic Square. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 26, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves number one overall draft pick Karl-Anthony Towns addresses the media at Mayo Clinic Square. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /
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When the Minnesota Timberwolves selected Karl-Anthony Towns with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft back in June, many were beginning to sense something special was coming together for Flip Saunders and crew.

Towns possesses unique two-way upside and versatility that is rarely seen from someone his size, and when you combine that with his elite athleticism, you have a prospect who could change the direction of a franchise from the get-go.

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However, it’s easy to get carried away with expectations for a player coming out of college. They’re still young and developing, not everyone is going to come right in and dominate.

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So what can we expect from Towns in his rookie season? Let’s take a further look and break it all down.

Offense

When Towns was being evaluated in high school, there wasn’t a lot to report on in terms of  a low-post game. That’s because he was more perimeter-oriented with his outside shot and ability to cut to the basket and finish off the pass.

Towns moves very well given he stands 7-feet. His mobility is one thing, but his superior ball-handling for a big man also has to be taken into account when game planning against Towns.

Taking his man off the dribble is an important part of his game because its what allows him to open up opportunities for not just himself but his teammates. He has great recognition of spacing on the floor and knows where his teammates are for an open pass whether he’s cutting or managing a double team.

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When Towns has open space, even though he has a reliable jump shot, he also has enough control over the ball to be able to drive and get a better look at a shot closer to the basket, even finishing with a lay-up like a guard at times.

Putting it simply, Towns has a lot of guard skills. Dribbling, shooting, passing. He’s working to fully extend his range out beyond the NBA three-point line, but even being able to hit shots from 15 to 18 feet out at his size is dangerous enough. With his length, very few players if any at all are going to get a hand on his shot.

What makes his jumper even more deadly is the fact that he doesn’t have to just be standing and waiting to fire a set shot. Towns has multiple off-balance and fadeaway shots to use at his disposal when the defense is playing him tight. Towns can create his own space, something that will help him tremendously at the next level.

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In terms of scoring down low, Towns loves to finish over his right shoulder. His right hook is his go-to move in the post, and it’s a good one to balance with his ability to his shots off of a fadeaway.

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Whether it’s bullying his man farther down low to hit a right hook or taking his man off the dribble or off balance, Towns has the complete offensive package of a modern NBA big. His size and versatility allow him to play at either the power forward or center position, giving Minnesota more options as to who they want to put next to him.

As far as statistics go, Towns won’t be averaging 20 points right out of the gate. There’s a lot of offensive talent on the Timberwolves between Andrew Wiggins, Kevin Martin, Zach LaVine and Shabazz Muhammad. Towns will get his touches thanks to passing savant Ricky Rubio, but he won’t be the focal point of the offense from first tip.

He should shoot a decent percentage from the field and from the free-throw line, but he hasn’t shown himself to be the most aggressive offensive player, so he may have ho-hum statistics some nights just like Wiggins did last season.

Defense

Towns is no stranger to being a defensive anchor. Between him and Willie Cauley-Stein last season at Kentucky, it was very difficult for opponents to score not only at the rim but in the lane as well thanks to the mobility.

One important part of playing defense is being able to have quick lateral movement and instincts, and Towns has those elements along with great length, allowing him to be a mobile shot-blocker for his team.

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He averaged 2.3 blocks per game in just 21.1 minutes per game for UK last season, and those numbers jumped all the way up to 4.3 per 40 minutes. Towns has the ability to be a prolific shot-blocker at the next level, something the Timberwolves desperately lacked in their starting lineup last season.

As gifted as Nikola Pekovic is as a scorer, he’s not great at getting blocks by any means. Sliding Towns in next to him could give Minnesota a great offensive-defensive combination down low.

As for the rest of Towns’ defensive game, his instincts also do him wonders in terms of getting steals. Towns plays the passing lanes very well, which usually turns into instant offense for his team on the break because of his up-court passing or his ability to bring the ball up the floor and initiate the offense from there.

Towns can be a one-man wrecking crew at times, meaning he should get a lot of playing time just based on his defense alone.

One area Towns will have to improve upon is his one-on-one defense. Towns was so used to playing more on the perimeter earlier in his career that he will have to adjust to the physicality of guarding NBA bigs night after night. It’s an adjustment for a player not viewed as physical like Towns, but he has the size and motor to compete.

It just may take time before he’s fully capable of being a reliable defender on a nightly basis down low.

Conclusion

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    • Towns is arguably the most gifted rookie in this year’s class, and there are going to be a lot of times where it’s going to show. However, there will also be times like every rookie where his lack of experience will be put on display with bad shot selection and turnovers.

    He’s not immune to either of those things, but his positives should outweigh the negatives in the end. Due to so much talent present on the offensive end, don’t look for him to get 15-to-20 shots up a game, but 10 should be a healthy number plus free-throw attempts.

    And with his length and instincts, he will be a decent rebounder too, but that’s another part of his game that may take time to come around because of the physicality at the next level.

    Don’t look for greatness in Towns’ first NBA season. Be on the lookout for flashes of greatness instead.

    Predicted 2015-16 Stat Line: 12.7 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 2.1 AST, 1.7 BLK, 51.0% FG, 75% FT

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