As human beings, we love to find ways to organize things in our brains. We look for patterns wherever we can. It’s a part of our nature, separating things into categories so we can understand them. We put things into a box, label it “X-mas stuff,” and put it into the garage for storage. Sometimes though, our need to order things — to put things in the right place — limits our view of what they actually are.
See, I work at an elementary school, and often students come to us with a label like Student A has a learning disorder, Student B got in a lot of trouble at their old school, or Student C is a “bad kid.” When we focus on the label that a child has been given, it’s easy to focus on what that child can’t do while missing out on all the amazing things they can do. So, as vital as it is to organize things in your head, it is equally as important to examine the preconceived notions you have to see things in an accurate light.
Unfortunately, in the world of the NBA, labels are everything. The narrative surrounding a player can make or break their perception around the league. With so much aggregating of mainstream media pundits, many of these labels begin to define players. We can see it now with Ben Simmons‘ value tanking because he’s been labeled an offensive liability even though his team was 4 points per 100 possessions better on offense last season with Simmons on the floor.
Fair or not, the Timberwolves organization and its players are subject to being labeled by the masses. If this team wants to be taken seriously by the NBA diehards, and more importantly, take that all-important step toward contention, there are a few labels that need to be shed.
Karl-Anthony Towns: “Soft”
I think many Timberwolves fans take umbrage with this one. “Our guy, Karl!? Soft!? Remember when he fought Joel Embiid? He’s not soft!” While I agree that this label is unfair, I think it’s worth unpacking why he might be considered “soft” by the larger NBA community.
Much of this narrative can be traced back to one unfortunate image that makes its way to the forefront of NBA Twitter yearly: The DeMarcus Cousins stare down.
This image gets circulated so often that even I, in my darkest hours, have stared into the endless abyss of Twitter and wondered, “Is Towns a softie?” This image joined with his perimeter-oriented game and his propensity for dramatically throwing his body around, paints a portrait of Towns that is so soft and squishy you might give it to a crying baby in an attempt to assuage its discomfort.
But, as Wolves faithful, we know this isn’t true. Towns’ strength runs so much deeper than what we see on Twitter. In his NBA career, this is a man who has endured the death of his coach, Flip Saunders, an attempted media assassination by his former teammate, Jimmy Butler, and most tragically, the death of his mother along with six other family members through this COVID-19 pandemic. Towns has been honest through it all and held his head high every time he stepped on the court. That is anything but “soft.”
We know that KAT’s strength is immense, persistent, and inherent to who he is, but how can he shed this label? Well, this is a good start:
It certainly looks like Towns has put on some muscle. Next time that Embiid wants to step to Karl, he better come prepared. In all seriousness, though, KAT has got to return to All-NBA form. The last two seasons have been riddled with injury and personal tragedy, but it seems like he’s been working hard this summer and is ready for a comeback in a big way.
Anthony Edwards: “Inefficient”
On paper, Anthony Edwards had a pretty typically inefficient rookie season. It’s to be expected that rookies are inconsistent, inefficient, and often time ineffective. But even before Ant played an NBA game, there were concerns about his efficiency that his rookie season did nothing to quell. Edwards scored a lot of points but needed a lot of shots to do that. Among players with a usage percentage of at least 27%, Ant’s usage last season, Edwards had the fifth-worst effective field goal percentage.
However, effective field goal percentage doesn’t tell the whole story. Ja Morant shot almost the same percentage, but Morant led the Memphis Grizzlies to the playoffs. So even if he is “inefficient,” he was efficient enough for the Grizz to compete. You see, that’s what this all comes down to, winning. No label is strong enough to withstand the power of winning games.
Ant can improve his offensive efficiency and help the Wolves win more games by getting to the free-throw line more often. The biggest strength of Ant’s game is his ability to attack the basket. Unfortunately, rookies seldom get the benefit of the doubt from an NBA official’s whistle. Edwards’ free throw rate fell from .339 in his freshman year at Georgia to .225 in his rookie campaign. All signs point to Ant improving his free throw rate as he continues to learn how to attack the basket in the NBA. Before the All-Star break, Ant was averaging 2.4 free throws per game. After the All-Star break, that number more than doubled as he attempted 5.1 free throws per game. Look to see Edwards at the free-throw line much more this season.
D’Angelo Russell: “The Ghost of Andrew Wiggins”
Okay, this one is a little bit more out there. Russell has a lot of labels: “Poor defender,” “inefficient scorer,” “injury prone.” All of these labels feed into the narrative that the Golden State Warriors fleeced the Wolves when they traded DLo for Wiggins and a first-round pick.
For “Mr. Ice in his Veins” to vanquish the Ghost of Andrew Wiggins that haunts us all, he’ll have to play like the All-Star (injury replacement) that he once was. For more detailed descriptions of how Russell can get rid of the “Canadian elephant in the room,” I encourage you to read all the words I’ve written about the D’Angelo Russell experience.
“Will D’Angelo Russell Return to All-Star Form Under Chris Finch?”
“The D’Angelo Russell Trade Doesn’t Look Great Right Now”
Turns out I am the foremost DLo critic on the Zone Coverage team. But, you see why don’t you? The fact that the Warriors walked away with Jonathan Kuminga in this draft and Towns and Russell have only played 25 games together makes this trade look like a full-stop disaster. If Russell can put together a healthy season, there’s no doubt he can do away with that narrative. Russell has shown great promise. He’s an underrated passer, and although his defense can be questionable at times, his knack for stealing the ball helps make up for some of the other lapses in his game.
Russell shot a career-high 38.7% from 3 last season. He is the only Timberwolf not named Karl-Anthony Towns who posted a positive BPM. Beneath his perceived flaws, there is a fantastic basketball player. He’s got to tap into that potential if he hopes to free himself from all the labels he’s been given.
