5. Karl-Anthony Towns
Towns’ growth can be looked at a few different ways. Some may look at him and say that there has been no growth. Others will look at him and say there has been little to none. Just remember this, though: Towns is now no longer the lone superstar on the team and has adjusted well to that.
Also keep in mind the part of this where how much the player impacts the team comes into play. And to no surprise here, Towns is still one of the biggest x-factors on the Wolves.
Sure, his points per game is just about four points less so far this season than all of last season. His field goal percentage and rebounds per game are down, too. However, look at the help he has.
Jimmy Butler, Jeff Teague, Jamal Crawford and even Taj Gibson have taken points away from Towns. Gibson has also been a factor when it comes to rebounds. All this could be a blessing in disguise for Towns as there isn’t as much stress on him.
You may be asking yourself where the growth is, and that would be fair.
His main growth comes from his defense. As shocking as it may seem, Towns has improved on defense this season. Last season, Towns had a 109.5 defensive rating. This season he currently has a defensive rating of 106.6. And while it’s a small shift and defensive rating is generally more reflective of the team as a whole, this was the biggest area of concern for Towns entering this season. Based off the numbers, it is fair to say Towns has improved the part of his game that needed it the most.
His defensive improvement is, in part, reason for his total win shares ranking among the league’s best.
#NBA WS Leaders as of 12/21:
— The Restricted Area (@1restrictedarea) December 22, 2017
1. James Harden- 7.1
1. LeBron James- 7.1
3. Giannis Antetokounmpo- 5.7
4. Kyrie Irving- 5.0
5. Damian Lillard- 4.7
6. Anthony Davis- 4.6
6. DeMar DeRozan- 4.6
6. Karl-Anthony Towns- 4.6
9. LaMarcus Aldridge- 4.5
10. Stephen Curry- 4.4 pic.twitter.com/guyNs7ORu4
He has also been grabbing rebounds with authority all season long, such as this one against the Denver Nuggets.
He is doing all the small things needed to do in order to help the Wolves find success, as well as establish himself as one of the best big men in the league.
One other thing he has done extremely well this season is shoot the long-ball. Last season Towns shot 36.7 percent from beyond the arc — good for a center, of course. This season, Towns has taken it a step further and has shot 39.5 percent from three.
A dynamic player that causes matchup nightmares for opponents; that was well-known about Towns. Now that he has started improving defensively that makes opponents matchups a whole lot tougher.