Minnesota Timberwolves: Lowe calls Towns ‘unguardable’

Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns continues to tear up the league, causing ESPN’s Zach Lowe bestowed some very high praise on the big man this week.

It’s no secret that Karl-Anthony Towns has been dominating night-in and night-out of late as the only real bright spot for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Now, after nearly a month of destroying everything in his path, Towns is receiving some of the national recognition that he deserves — regardless of how poorly the Wolves are playing overall.

Since the All-Star break, Towns’ per-game numbers are crazy: 34 points, 13.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.2 blocks over nine contests. His field goal/3-point/free throw percentage shooting line is even more ridiculous: .593/.491/.783. And going back to the beginning of February, that line is .606/.506/.800 over 15 games. While still a small sample size, that’s nearly 20 percent of the season.

ESPN’s Zach Lowe releases a regular “Ten things I like and don’t like” article, and this week, the No. 1 item on the list was none other than Karl-Anthony Towns, who Lowe calls “unguardable”.

Below is an excerpt, but be sure to follow the above link and read the whole thing.

"Towns is the league’s best hope for a sustainable, old school-ish inside-out offense — even a tick above Joel Embiid. He can do pretty much anything from any spot below the foul line, and that versatility makes him unguardable one-on-one. He is a slightly better passer than Embiid, with a lower turnover rate.Towns is slinging about four assists per game since the Butler deal, up from about 2.5 before. He is patient reading help schemes, watching cutters whir around, and firing crosscourt passes that travel one link further along the chain than the defense expects……It has been a joke watching teams try to guard him. Only foul trouble can stop him…"

Indeed, Towns has been unstoppable. Double-teams have been the only real hope for opponents, although Towns’ improved passing instincts and the results the Wolves have gotten out of possessions with a Towns post-up have mitigated that success as well.

Lowe also notes that the Wolves have had a top-three offense league-wide with Towns on the floor since December. Of course, Towns’ foul trouble has limited his playing time somewhat, and the defense has been nothing short of horrendous of late.

Towns and the Timberwolves have only 13 games left in the campaign to keep KAT rolling and hopefully find some semblance of a defense, which would give fans hope for the fall.

And we all know that Wolves fans need some hope to cling to after the last six months of drama, injuries, and overall organizational tumult.