Karl-Anthony Towns and Derrick Rose: The good, the bad, and the decent

The Timberwolves only lost to the Rockets by three points in Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs on Sunday night, but how many points did they leave on the floor by misusing Karl-Anthony Towns?

Sunday night’s Game 1 between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Houston Rockets was a fun contest, with the top-seeded Rockets pulling out to multiple double-digit leads only to see the underdog Wolves come back and take numerous modest leads of their own.

Ultimately, the Wolves had possession trailing by just three points with 8.7 seconds left and a chance to tie the game. It didn’t end well, of course, but there were many other opportunities for Minnesota to be more effective on offense much earlier in the game.

There were plenty of Timberwolves Twitter “coaches” who lamented the lack of touches for Karl-Anthony Towns, and rightly so. The All-Star big man only shot the ball nine times in a team-high 40 minutes, and was frequently guarded by wings and guards after the Rockets switched nearly every screen-and-roll.

After the game, actual head coach Tom Thibodeau said that Towns needed to “be more active”, especially in transition and in re-posting.

So, what’s the best way to look at this? It surely seems to be a bit of both, as the Wolves have a stable of guards who like to penetrate as pick-and-roll ball-handlers: Jimmy Butler, Andrew Wiggins, Jeff Teague, Jamal Crawford, and Derrick Rose. This lends itself to more contested, mid-range shots, and also more isolation opportunities when the action plays out.

Towns, for his part, is not particularly adept at re-screening. He certainly has stretches of play when he is physical in the post and refuses to back down, but too often on Sunday he would drift towards the corner or the weak side of the paint if he didn’t get the ball on the initial post-up.

The other issue, of course, is the odd quirk when it comes to a basic basketball fundamental: the Wolves, as a whole, aren’t good at making entry passes.

From the incomparable Bob Voulgaris:

And, from our old friend Brian Sampson, in a Teague-specific video.

Again, the issues aren’t limited to Teague, but he is the point guard and it’s fair to assume that he’d be the best entry-passer on the team.

Here’s an observation from former University of Minnesota basketball player Damian Johnson.

Needless to say, it’s a real issue. And it’s extremely weird.

Now, on to Derrick Rose. (And no, I never thought I’d be breaking down Derrick Rose-led pick-and-rolls, even as recently as a week or two ago. He simply didn’t play enough for it to make a huge difference, but he was on the court for nearly the entirety of the second and third quarters on Sunday night.)

Rose is not a good jump-shooter; he never has been. He’s always been most effective diving to the rim, and while his athleticism isn’t in the same stratosphere as it was in his MVP days with the Bulls (his strange surge from Sunday night notwithstanding), it’s still his bread-and-butter.

Here, from last Monday against Memphis, is Rose and Towns in the pick-and-roll together.

Dynamite, right? Towns rolls hard and is surprised by a turn-back-the-clock pass from D-Rose.

Below, however, Towns allows himself to be grabbed and completely held up by Chris Paul. It’s an inexcusable float-job by KAT, although Rose isn’t blameless here, either.

A simple bounce pass would have put Towns in position for a 12-foot jumper, and he surely would have drawn a foul on Paul, too. (There was one as it was that simply wasn’t called.) Instead, Rose launches from 17 feet. He made the shot, but methinks that a 12-foot and-one from Towns is a preferred shot attempt.

Next up, Towns mostly whiffs on a screen but is still standing wide-open at the top of the key, where he shoots 43 percent. Rose ignores KAT and shoots a contested mid-range jumper over James Harden that clangs off the rim.

This is classic Rose, but even with a 7-for-14 shooting night that was overall fairly effective, his tunnel vision was evident at times.

Now that we’ve exposed both Rose and Towns for their own issues, let’s talk about some issues on the coaching side. Take a look at this set:

Solid dribble-handoff action, right? Yes, except it was a Gibson-Rose handoff that left the three most dynamic players on the court in Towns, Butler, and Andrew Wiggins, floating on the perimeter. And while Rose scored on the play, there was never any intention to involve the other three Wolves.

It’s another reminder that the Rockets switch on virtually every screen; in this scenario Towns was guarded on the perimeter by Trevor Ariza. Why not run the same play with Towns and Butler? Gibson is a fine player, of course, but sheer size, athleticism, and shot-making ability should make Towns the obvious candidate for that role in the offense nearly every single time down the court.

These plays are isolated, of course, but the theme of not involving KAT in planned offensive sets was a common theme.

Expect Towns to bounce-back, however. The only other two times that he scored in single-digits this season? Following a two-point outing in New Orleans back on Nov. 1, Towns dropped 31 points on 18 shots against Dallas, tallying 12 rebounds in the process. Then, after scoring just seven points at Memphis on Dec. 4, Towns put up 21 points on 14 shots and grabbed 12 rebounds against the Clippers.

Also, the two games before his 56-point outburst against Atlanta just two weeks ago saw Towns score 15 points in each contest, shooting a combined 8-for-28 (28.6 percent) from the floor.

The Rockets likely won’t adjust much defensively as the Wolves offense scored in uncharacteristic ways. Most of what was open on Sunday should remain available next time out for Minnesota.

Next: The top 5 playoff games in Timberwolves history

Of course, it’s a matter of taking advantage of what the defense is willing to allow, and maximizing opportunities with dynamic players. And now, it’s up to Thibodeau and his staff to make sure that happens on Wednesday night.