At the end of December and beginning of the new year, Karl-Anthony Towns was on
one of the best runs of his career. From December 28 to January 12, the big man
averaged 28.3 points and 16.2 rebounds and added 4.0 assists and 3.1 blocks.
However, things were not as rosy in Philly and against San Antonio. Towns
struggled with foul trouble and seemed to be in a mini slump. On Sunday against
the Suns, Towns was back in a big way.
We don’t need to blow things out of proportion–the Suns, playing without
talented rookie center Deandre Ayton, didn’t have a clear choice on their roster
to match up with Towns–but one of the marks of a consistent superstar is to
take it to the opposition when you have a favorable matchup. Towns did that
tonight.
Towns finished the contest with 30 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and four
steals. Importantly, he also had only two fouls. He threw down some highlight
reel dunks and simply looked like a man among boys at times.
This could be exactly what Towns needed to get him back on track. Looking
forward, he’ll face more stiff competition. After taking on these Suns again in
Phoenix on Tuesday, he’ll match up against JaVale McGee and Tyson Chandler in
L.A., Rudy Gobert twice on a home and away with the Jazz, before seeing Marc
Gasol and Nikola Jokic at home. The Wolves need Towns to win these matchups if
they want to pick up a few important conference victories, so getting him
rolling tonight will likely pay dividends.
Counterintuitively, the key to unlocking Towns further may be the play of his
teammates. A few Wolves played well tonight (obviously Derrick Rose, and Taj
Gibson was great as well), but the team hit only six threes on 24 attempts. That
puts a lot of pressure on Towns.
Despite Towns’ incredible play, if the Wolves want to win a significant number
of their upcoming games, they need to open up the floor for him to operate. He
and Rose carried the team on their shoulders tonight, but that won’t always be
possible when he has bigger and better defenders on him and faces defenses that
are better about being disciplined with their double teams.
We saw tonight what Towns is capable of when he’s locked in and playing at his
best, and entering into a stretch that will define their season, the Wolves need
him to bring this kind of fire every night. He is capable and he’s prepared,
tonight reassured us of that. The important thing now is continuing to build on
what worked so well for him tonight.
Player: Karl-Anthony Towns
Media Content:
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