After the first two weeks of preseason action, there have been a lot of positives to take away from the Minnesota Timberwolves’ play. Overall, it’s been on the offensive side of things where the team looks miles better than they did a year ago. The rotation has been healthy except for Jaden McDaniels, who will miss the rest of the preseason with a “minor” left calf strain, and everyone seems to be on the same page.
A fully healthy Karl-Anthony Towns has been leading the charge on offense. He’s averaging 17 points on 46% from the floor through the first three preseason games. Most people expect Towns to be good offensively, especially when healthy. But Chris Finch has been much more impressed with what he has been able to do on defense.
“Defensively, I’ve been really pleased with [KAT],” Finch told the media last week. “He’s really moving well. He’s challenging everything and getting through a lot of actions. He looks sharp. His time away this summer with the Dominican team, you can tell that’s put him in great shape. His mindset is right where it needs to be.”
According to NBA.com, KAT ranked as the fifth-most efficient defending forward based on defensive win shares. A win-share is a measure used by the NBA assigned to players based on their offense, defense, and playing time. The higher win-share a player has, the higher their impact on winning. In Towns’ case, the stat tells us that when he was on the floor, the team’s defense drove winning with him more than any other forward/center.
That stat caught my attention. Win shares aren’t a perfect measurement, of course. For example, Towns had the 67th-highest rating amongst forwards last season, which isn’t great. However, the win shares stat helps highlight his evolving defensive abilities as he continues to adapt into a power-forward role.
“Just be aggressive and not funnel as much at Rudy,” Towns said when a reporter asked about the defensive lessons he learned last season. “Try to make sure [the ball] stays in front, and not try and funnel everything to Rudy, which was the gameplan emphasis last year. Us doing better at the point of attack will be more beneficial for our team.”
According to NBA.com, the Timberwolves ranked as a top-10 defensive team based on overall defensive rating last season. Rudy Gobert and McDaniels generated most of their defensive success. Because he missed 52 games, Towns didn’t have time to get on the same page with his teammates, especially on defense. Everyone has talked about the offensive change KAT has been making as he molds into a power forward, but his success on defense is just as important.
During Minnesota’s third preseason game against the New York Knicks this weekend, Towns’ improved defense caught my attention. He didn’t record any blocks or steals in the game, but his defensive technique looked much improved from last year.
Video clip via NBA/YouTube
KAT is no longer a traditional 5, so the Wolves are asking him to do a lot more switching. He has to defend a healthy mix of bigger players when he shares the floor with Naz Reid and smaller, more versatile players when he is out there with Gobert. The play above resulted in a foul, but Towns defended RJ Barrett‘s drive incredibly well. For the most part, he stayed vertical and attempted to block his layup, which resulted in the foul call.
There were a couple of other instances where KAT contained Julius Randle down low, who was his primary defensive cover in the first half. He could also switch and hold his own against smaller players, such as Isaiah Roby and Jericho Sims. Because we are in the preseason, I don’t have access to the same amount of film as I usually do, so you’ll have to take my word on that.
Towns doesn’t have to be in contention for a Defensive Player of the Year award this season to improve Minnesota’s defense. He doesn’t even have to be his team’s third-best defender. But we’ve seen some rather large steps from the 27-year-old in the preseason and dating back to last year. KAT’s defensive improvement will open up a whole new level to how the Wolves defend on a team-wide level as they look to improve from their top-10 defensive rating from last season.
