Timberwolves: Can Karl-Anthony Towns guard the perimeter?

The Minnesota Timberwolves were the 11th ranked defense last season, yielding 111.7 points per possession.  An unexpected mark, but one that is sure to rise with new roster additions and young players reaching their defensive potential.

When Rudy Gobert plays a full season, he consistently anchors top 10 (at minimum) defenses, and Jaden McDaniels is a one-on-one perimeter stopper that provides plenty of value in deflecting shots at the rim. Anthony Edwards displays the ability to stifle offensive players on the ball and his off-ball deficiencies should clean up with age and more attention to detail.

D’Angelo Russell is a solid positioning defender with a high IQ — possessing the ability to call out offensive sets and direct traffic. With Karl-Anthony Towns primed to play on the perimeter more with Rudy Gobert’s arrival, will he be able to hold his own as a perimeter defender?

Towns Will Have Elite Backup On Defense

To put it simple, Towns hasn’t thrived as a perimeter defender to this point in his career. The seven-foot scorer hasn’t shown the same type of lateral quickness on the perimeter that he carves other bigs up with on offense. What makes this year any different? His ability to keep opponents in front of him might not change much, but the backside support he’ll have will be insane.

The NBA is a switch-hunting league. Teams typically try to single out weakling defenders and attack them relentlessly. If Towns finds himself on an island with a crafty ball handler that can easily blow by him, getting by Towns should be the least of their worries. If this player doesn’t have a consistent midrange game (a lot don’t) they may elect to get all the way to the rim.

When they get there, they’ll be met by two extraordinary rim protectors. Per PBP stats, opponents shot 49% on 458 rim attempts when challenging Rudy Gobert (the lowest number of any player with 450 rim attempts). And Jaden McDaniels wasn’t too shabby himself, as his opponents shot 55% on 222 rim attempts. That’s an outrageous number for a wing. Even if Towns isn’t able to stick on the perimeter, these two will clean up a lot of errors, making life easier for everyone.

Wolves Will Put KAT In Position To Succeed

But Towns shouldn’t give opponents a free pass to the basket just because he has two top tier defenders on the backline. The Utah Jazz ran into that problem constantly in the playoffs. The difference here is that Towns is the only subpar defender in the starting five, while every other defender next to Gobert unachieved in their defensive role in Utah. Russell isn’t the strongest on-ball defender, but his IQ and effort makes up for his physical shortcomings.

I am expecting Coach Finch to stick Towns on the weakest perimeter offensive threat when he’s playing with the starting five. That player may be a non-shooting slasher, a spot-up shooter, or just a limited offensive player in general. It’s rare to see a team roll out five offensive threats.

Teams would be going out of their way to have the spot-up-shooter — or weakest offensive threat — attack Towns. With that player generally unequipped to take on that kind of matchup, that would ruin a team’s flow and probably wouldn’t generate the ideal advantage.

Will teams still try to get Towns switched onto elite ball handlers? Sure they will. Will teams game plan to get Towns involved in various pick and roll actions? The answer is a resounding yes. But with the help he’ll have — just give as much effort as possible and do a better job attacking angles defensively — and they can offset this wart in his game.