Dunking With Wolves
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Karl-Anthony Towns is taking fewer shots than ever before

By Brian Sampson

PORTLAND, OR - JANUARY 24: Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves looks on against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center on January 24, 2018 in Portland, Oregon.NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR - JANUARY 24: Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves looks on against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center on January 24, 2018 in Portland, Oregon.NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) /
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Karl-Anthony Towns is seeing fewer shots than ever before with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Does the team have too many mouths to feed?

Karl-Anthony Towns is a generational talent being treated like he’s run of the mill. The treatment isn’t intentional by the Minnesota Timberwolves, nonetheless, it’s happening.

From the coaching staff to the last player on the Wolves’ bench, nobody seems interested in consistently feeding Towns the ball. And because of this, his shot attempts have decreased to almost career-lows.

Last season, there wasn’t a month where Towns averaged fewer than 16 shots per game. In fact, he averaged more than 18.3 attempts per month over the last four months of the season.

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However, this season is a completely different story as he’s seen his attempts decrease every month. After taking 16.0 shots per game during seven contests in October, his numbers have fallen to 13.9, 13.5 and 13.0 in the three months since. To make matters worse, his 13 shots per game in January are the second lowest of his career, only behind November of 2015 (his first full month in the association) when he took 10.9 shots per game.

Of course, there are many reasons for his attempts to be way down and the biggest factor is the number of increased playmakers the Timberwolves brought in this season. With the additions of Jeff Teague, Jimmy Butler, Jamal Crawford and even Taj Gibson who’s attempting 9.1 shots per game, the chances for Towns have gone down.

This is extremely unfortunate, as he’s the teams most talented scorer. It’s easy to blame certain players (Teague) for Towns’ lack of shots, but most of the blame should fall on Tom Thibodeau and his coaching staff. They are the ones responsible for implementing the offense and ensuring their best players get the ball most often. And I just haven’t seen a consistent message to the players demanding Towns touches the ball on every possession.

What makes it even more difficult for the big man is his inability to call his own number. A post player is typically more reliant on the guards and wings to get them the ball, as they can’t bring it up the floor and call their own number. A lot of his offense comes out of post feeds, pick-and-pops, or other forms where he’s set up to score.

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If Minnesota truly wants to reach their full potential this season, they need to figure out how to run their offense through the former Kentucky Wildcat. That doesn’t mean he needs to shoot the ball on every possession, but he should at least have a touch. He’s shown an increasingly improving ability in hitting the open cutters which is great news for his teammates. Now, it’s doing the easy part and getting him the ball.

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