On March 7, the Minnesota Timberwolves were in Gainbridge Fieldhouse, taking on the Indiana Pacers. Five seconds into the game, Anthony Edwards rolled his left ankle while attempting to score against Aaron Neisimith. He immediately deferred the ball to Mike Conley and signaled to Minnesota’s bench that they needed to sub him out of the game. The uncertainty of his return to the game and the season overall left fans and the team in a state of anxious anticipation.
Even though he usually subs back in after a brief stint in the locker room, seeing Edwards hobble off the court always creates concern. However, his apparent ankle injury was even more demoralizing because earlier that day, NBA Insider Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Karl-Anthony Towns suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee and was out indefinitely. The Timberwolves were first in the Western Conference and entering the tail end of the regular season without their second-leading scorer, jockeying with the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder for the top three seeds.
Many people feared the worst when Edwards rolled his ankle.
But true to form, Ant reemerged from the tunnel a few minutes later and went on to have the game-saving block where he hit his head on the rim. The Timberwolves won that game 113-111. It was an exciting finish headlined by Edwards’ block and 44 points, indicating how Minnesota’s next 17 games would go. Hopes of hanging onto the first seed in the West diminished after Towns’ injury. However, the Wolves remained a top-three-seeded team without KAT in the lineup due primarily to Edwards averaging 26 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists on 45% from the floor.
Towns returned from injury with two games left in the regular season. While he was out, Chris Finch and his staff had to change lineups, rotations, and minutes. Usually, when a player misses an extended stretch, they need at least 3-5 games to get their feet under them. However, with the red-hot Phoenix Suns waiting for the Wolves in the first round of the playoffs, Towns needed to use the final two games before the postseason to quickly get back on track and figure out how to return to his All-Star self while not messing up the progress that Minnesota built while he was out.
“I thought he played within the flow of the game, for the most part, which was good,” Finch said after Towns returned on Friday. “Obviously, he was super rusty. I thought it was a good first effort for him. He made a big shot in the corner, and that’s what we are going to need him to do, which is stay patient, wait for the ball to come to him, and be ready to knock it down.”
In his 27-minute return against the Hawks, Towns scored 11 points on 4 of 11 from the floor and 1 of 6 from three. However, Atlanta ranks 27th in defensive rating (118.4). Aside from that clutch corner triple in the fourth quarter, he was a non-factor from range. That’s to be expected after missing a month and losing 20 pounds. However, Minnesota’s coaching staff appears to have tweaked their game plan to promote more off-ball shooting for KAT.
When the Timberwolves traded for Rudy Gobert two summers ago, Finch didn’t want to turn Towns into strictly an off-ball player. He is too good on offense. While a healthy diet of on and off-ball scoring needs to be struck with a player like KAT, who shares the floor next to two players who do the bulk of their damage from the paint, an up-tick in plays that features him spacing from deep will be something the Wolves need to lean on as they attempt to reintegrate KAT into a team that has found success without him playing.
In the clip above, Towns patiently waits from the corner while Edwards attempts to score in isolation against Bogdan Bogdanović. Edwards makes his way into the paint, rises like he will shoot, and zips it out to KAT instead. From there, Towns takes De’Andre Hunter – an above-average defender – off the bounce and bullies his way into the paint. Ultimately, Karl put a quick right-handed hook shot over two defenders. However, if we stop the play as soon as Bogdanović rotates over to help, there are scoring options all over the floor.
- 1) Flip the ball to Gobert for a floater/dunk
- 2) Find Jaden McDaniels in the opposite corner
- 3) Swing it out to Edwards, who can attempt the triple, or pass it again to Nickeil Alexander-Walker if the defense helps.
As Finch alluded to in the quote above, Towns must remain ready to shoot from deep when the ball finds him spacing off the ball. Even though KAT has hit 20% from three since returning, his shot will eventually come around, so there shouldn’t be much concern there. Instead, Towns’ decision-making and ball security when taking his defender off the dribble are where he has the most room to grow offensively.
“[I had] so much time to watch this team through a different lens,” KAT told reporters postgame. “It gave me a good understanding of what I can do when I go out there, how I can help this team, most importantly, win. Just utilizing my aggression not only to score but also to make plays. Whether that is to score or make the right pass. And consistently try to find people and take my shots when I get a chance.”
Towns dished out eight assists in his return, tying his second-most this season and fourth-most in his career. He also committed three turnovers, two of which were passing errors, the other an offensive foul. Towns was still trying to get on the same page as his teammates. Still, he put together one of the best passing displays of his career only three days after the Wolves cleared him for five-on-five basketball activities. He did so by getting rid of the ball quickly when met with resistance and not getting overly excited when one of his teammates became open.
In the clip below, Towns tries to take Hunter off the dribble. The second KAT notices Bogdanović come over to help, he picks the ball up, waits a split second, and finds McDaniels sliding to the open corner, who has just enough daylight to fire up a triple with Gobert ghost screening.
Towns spent 2.5 partial possessions per game in isolation (32nd most league-wide) this season and produced 0.97 points per possession. For reference, Giannis Antetokounmpo spent 3.4 partial possessions per game in isolation and produced 0.98 points per possession.
Most of that success has been when KAT’s back is posting up with his back to the basket. However, he’s had turnover issues when he attacks the paint, which kills the flow of Minnesota’s offense and produces 5-on-4 transition opportunities for the opponent. If Towns continues to navigate off the ball quickly, it should mitigate the turnover buggaboos.
When Towns receives the ball for a post-up look, his positioning on the floor can help promote positive flow and limit stagnant possessions.
Above, KAT has his back to the basket near the three-point line. Immediately after McDaniels passes him the ball, he uses Kevin Durant to sift into the paint and make himself open for the entry pass. The possession ended in a turnover. But putting KAT near the elbow instead of the three-point line, with players cutting around him, is a set play Minnesota’s coaching staff can occasionally tap into to shake things up while not clogging the paint with Gobert on the floor.
With under four days until game one between the Wolves and Suns tips off, Towns will need to use that time to get on the same page with his teammates. The shots will eventually start falling, but KAT can’t have a two-assist, five-turnover game like he had against Phoenix on Sunday. Some of the plays Finch and his staff have drawn up give KAT a blueprint for success. It’s now a question of whether he can consistently execute the simple, easy passes against the stifling halfcourt defense that all teams bring in the playoffs.
