Holiday Hero: The month of Karl-Anthony Towns

As the holiday season winds down, let’s take a moment to stop and celebrate the month of December that Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns had.

December is a merry time for all, and in spirit of the holiday season the Minnesota Timberwolves shared the love with their fans, winning 10 of their 15 December games.

Jimmy Butler was in full-blown superstar mode, but it was his sidekick — and he may be too good to even be called that — Karl-Anthony Towns who made the biggest strides of any Timberwolves player over the course of the month.

After enduring some rough shooting moments earlier in the season, the center is back to his dominant self on offense, with a few new tricks to show off, too, as well as giving some strong signs of life on the defensive end.

Starting with the more glamorous side of the game, Karl-Anthony Towns has been an unstoppable force throughout December.

The former Kentucky product has posted 20.2 points per game in December, which may seem slightly low for a player of his caliber, but it has been the manner in which Towns has acquired those points that have been so impressive. Towns is shooting right on his career average of 54 percent from the field, but he is shooting a scorching 45.8 percent from behind the 3-point line, rendering him virtually unguardable from anywhere on the floor.

According to NBA stats, Towns has shot 70.6 percent from inside the restricted area, showing his dominance in the post night-in and night-out. He is playing with a seemingly new urge to use his post-up opportunities to get high quality shots at the rim instead of settling for long hook shots or mid-range jumpers.

The 3-point shot is splashing too, and it’s made possible by KAT finding his strength from behind the arc and sticking to it.

Towns recorded just five 3-point attempts that weren’t classified as ‘above-the-break’ — pretty much anywhere that isn’t a corner three. On those above-the-break 3-balls, the big man nailed a ridiculous 25 of his 54 attempts.

Splash.

Timberwolves and NBA fans alike know that Karl-Anthony Towns can dominate like few others on offense however, it is the defensive side that KAT has been heavily criticized for this season. Lately though, the former No. 1 draft pick has been turning heads defensively.

The big man has averaged 2.1 blocks and 1.6 steals per outing over the course of December, finally combining his elite athleticism with good positioning and awareness in Tom Thibodeau’s defensive scheme.

Here is a perfect example of staying with his man and keeping vertical to inflict an easy block on Lance Stephenson, made possible by excellent footwork and positioning in the pick-and-roll coverage.

Towns spoke to Zone Coverage’s Dane Moore about his new found defensive prowess.

"“I think from that aspect I’ve been in a better position and you know, just doing a better job of understanding people’s traits … just being more vertical and not making a foul out of a block, just letting the block come to me” he said."

It hasn’t just been the ball swatting that has been impressive this month for Towns, however.

According to NBA stats, KAT has posted a 104.5 Defensive Rating in that span which is good for second best on the Timberwolves roster, behind only Tyus Jones (103.5). Combine that with his team-leading 116.9 offensive rating over December and Karl-Anthony Towns possesses the best net rating for the Wolves during the holiday season.

He has kept his opponents to a meager 37 percent from the paint (outside the restricted area) and 37.1 percent from the mid-range area.

Here is another example of fantastic weak-side defense by Towns, leading to a floor-shattering block on Thaddeus Young.

It may just be a Christmas miracle, but Karl-Anthony Towns’ defense is improving right before our very eyes.

Next: Dear Timberwolves Fans: Let's enjoy the ride

The big man is well and truly hitting the afterburners on the 2017-18 season, and his month of December was a gift not only to Minnesota Timberwolves fans, but all NBA fans.