What started as newcomer Karl-Anthony Towns needing to fall in line behind Andrew Wiggins, and Zach LaVine (to a lesser extent) in the Timberwolves’ offensive hierarchy became Towns showing he could be more than a complementary weapon. Since then, it became Towns proving he could already handle a starring role, until suddenly the No. 1 pick has come out of nowhere.
It has reached the point that the Minnesota offense is essentially now going through Towns. That is a development few, if any, around the league could have imagined at the start of 2015-16 as NBA general managers predicted Towns would not win Kia Rookie of the Year even while saying he would eventually develop into the best player in the Draft class. Towns can make an impact right away, but will not have the featured role on offense with Wiggins heading into his second season and on a path to stardom. Towns will need time.
He needed about 70 percent of his first campaign.
The final full month of the regular season arrives with Towns becoming something of the first option in Minnesota, a shift that began in February as a whole and developed with more clarity since the All-Star break.
In all 2015-16, Wiggins is averaging 16.4 attempts in 35.0 minutes per game, Towns 13.4 shots in 30.6 minutes.
In February, Wiggins averaged 16.3 attempts in 34.9 minutes, while Towns was at 15.9 in 34.6 minutes.
In the six games since the All-Star break, Towns is averaging 17 attempts in 35.3 minutes, Wiggins is at 14.8 in 34.1.
No more falling in line. Towns continues to break glass ceilings at a time when he appears to be putting distance on the field for Kia Rookie of the Year, and when he is definitely tightening the hold on the top spot on The Rookie Ladder.
1. Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves
Last week’s ranking: No. 1
The winner of the first three Rookie of the Month recognitions in the Western Conference set himself up for a fourth by averaging 21.1 points and 11.8 rebounds in February while shooting 53.7 percent. Those numbers deserve consideration for Player of the Month, not just Rookie of the Month. It’s not just a Towns thing for the top newcomer either. Between KAT this season and Wiggins last, a Timberwolf has won seven of the last nine months, a streak interrupted only by Jordan Clarkson (March, 2015) and Rodney Hood (April, 2015).
2. Kristaps Porzingis, New York Knicks
Last week’s ranking: No. 2
He just shot 92.3 percent from the line in February, the second time he’s done that in the last three months in what was a great showing for anyone, but especially a 7-foot-3 rookie. That pushed Porzingis to 85.3 percent for the season, No. 2 in the class behind only Orlando’s Mario Hezonja and No. 24 in the league, with enough time remaining to make a big move up the list. While his rebounding and defense have generated most of the attention, and occasionally his scoring, the work from the line has become an understated success to Porzingis’ game.
3. Jahlil Okafor, Philadelphia 76ers
Last week’s ranking: No. 3
He needed a good February, and got one. Okafor went from two consecutive months of declining shots, a very bad trend for someone who greatest impact is scoring, and the same two months in a row with a drop in rebounding to the bounce back of 14.1 attempts and 6.5 rebounds. The 18.5 points per game marked his best scoring month of the season, thanks to the 56.8 percent from the field and 76.5 percent from the line. Okafor has made at least 60 percent of his field goals in six of his last seven appearances, and the time that didn’t reach the plateau was 55.6 percent on a night with only nine attempts because of foul trouble.
4. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
Last week’s ranking: No. 4
Time to put him on a minutes watch. Jokic played just 11 and 19 minutes the last two games and has logged 20 or less in three of the last four outings. http://stats.nba.com/player/#!/203999/gamelogs/ It becomes a temporary setback if the workload increases soon. If not, it becomes an issue heading into the final weeks of the season, reminiscent of exactly a year ago as another Nuggets rookie center from Europe, Jusuf Nurkic, lost minutes down the stretch. Jokic is averaging 9.4 rebounds in 21.3 minutes the last five games, though.
5. Justise Winslow, Miami Heat
Last week’s ranking: No. 5
Winslow averaged 7.8 rebounds in February http://on.nba.com/1T7Tq7T while playing some power forward at 6-foot-7 and has at least nine boards in three of the last seven games. It was that kind of impressive month, another layer along with improved shooting and the season-long contribution of advanced defense. It was also part of a month of his role being at least slightly altered with Chris Bosh leaving the lineup with an unspecified leg issue and then Joe Johnson arriving as a free agent via a buyout, but Winslow continues to get big minutes as always.
6. Myles Turner, Indiana Pacers
Last week’s ranking: No. 6
Not merely a candidate for Rookie of the Month in the Eastern Conference, Turner got to 29.8 minutes in February after 19.2 in January, to 13.4 points after 11.2, and to 6.6 rebounds after 4.7. In going from some positive signs to consistent production once he got a bigger role, Turner’s February established him as one of the top first-year players, with a chance to make first-team All-Rookie in a vote at the end of the regular season. His rebounding has become inconsistent the last couple weeks, making it an area of needed improvement.
7. D’Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers
Last week’s ranking: No. 7
The first five games back in the opening lineup: 55.2 percent shooting, 62.1 percent behind the arc (with 4.4 attempts per), 21.4 points, 32.2 minutes and 4.8 assists against 1.6 turnovers. And it’s not just a good roll since reclaiming his old job as the starting point guard. Russell was good all February, hitting shots with range in a flashback to his Ohio State days and showing dramatic improvement with his ball handling and decisions. While Winslow and Turner didn’t provide an opening for Russell to climb the rankings, the No. 2 pick showed he is capable of a very big finish.
8. Bobby Portis, Chicago Bulls
Last week’s ranking: No. 9
The 16 rebounds — in 28 minutes — Saturday against the Trail Blazers was the most by a Bulls rookie in almost eight years, since Aaron Gray in April 2008, a stat with all the more value when considering Chicago had Taj Gibson and Nikola Mirotic among other talented bigs since that time. Portis is at 9.8 points and 8.3 rebounds in his last six games and finished February at 9.8 and 7.3, respectively. He is up to seventh in in the class in rebounding and just 0.2 away from fifth.
9. Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns
Last week’s ranking: No. 8
While several fellow Ladder residents surged in February, Booker fell. Plummeted, actually, as the 3-point fireworks that drove him to No. 6 on Feb. 3 gave way to the harsh reality check of 33.6 percent from the field and 32.7 percent behind the arc for the month. He was still second in the class in 3-point percentage at 38.3, behind Utah’s Raul Neto, but any hope of crashing the top 10 in the league were long gone by the time March arrived. Getting back into the top 20 is the new goal. And staying on The Ladder.
10. Willie Cauley-Stein, Sacramento Kings
Last week’s ranking: Not ranked
Cauley-Stein does not exactly storm back into the rankings after a one-week hiatus — 19.1 minutes and 4.4 rebounds the last five games, although also 64.3 percent from the field in limited opportunities — but his play for the season as a whole remains at a high level. That plus Stanley Johnson’s shoulder injury creates the opening in the absence of flashy recent numbers. WCS is fifth among rookies in blocks, tied for fifth in rebounding, first in shooting, and is defending even though it appears that sort of thing is discouraged in Sacramento.
Dropped out: Stanley Johnson (10).
Scott Howard-Cooper has covered the NBA since 1988. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter.
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting.
