The game was over, the season was almost lost, and yet somehow Karl-Anthony Towns made things worse. This Western Conference final has been a disaster for Towns, whose scoring has plummeted and his shooting percentages have hit rock bottom. The Dallas Mavericks have been tougher on Towns, more physical, pushing him further and further to the perimeter, turning the 7-foot, 248-pound Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star into a one-dimensional jump shooter, the type his head coach Chris Finch admitted it was “hard to watch.”
Towns could have taken care of this, he could have done what his teammate, Anthony Edwards, did after a 27-point loss to the Denver Nuggets in the last round. “I will take the blame for this,” Edwards said then. Yet there was Towns on Sunday, surrounded by reporters after a stinking 5-for-18 in Game 3, rewriting history in real time after Minnesota fell into an 0-3 hole in the series.
“I started laughing,” Towns said. “I’m taking up to 1,500 shots a day and I shot very well throughout the playoffs. Confidence is extremely high and to have these unfortunate bounces and these looks that just don’t go in, it’s tough.”
Whatever. Maybe Towns is throwing 1,500 shots a day between games. No one believes him (“KAT is reaching his limit right now,” Draymond Green said on the TNT telecast) but, more importantly, no one cares. Towns may own Minnesota’s off days, but in games, he’s coming up woefully short.
These are not bad bounces or near misses. In the conference finals, Towns just plays soft. Dallas is a physical team but not especially big. Sure, Towns has found himself paired with Daniel Gafford or Dereck Lively II. But just as often it’s PJ Washington, Luka Dončić and even Kyrie Irving who take him off the block.
“We’re trying to score, trying to shoot the best we can, especially myself, take responsibility,” Towns said. “The game just isn’t fun when it’s going like that.”
There are young faces in that Minnesota locker room, from Edwards to Naz Reid, from Jaden McDaniels to Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Towns is not one of them. At 28, Towns is an elder statesman. His playoff resume is thin, but after nine seasons in the NBA, he should know what it takes to succeed there.
No team in NBA history has rallied to win four straight games in a series, but make no mistake: If Towns continues to play like this, Minnesota won’t get one. There have been flashes, like the brief stretch in the third quarter on Sunday when Towns dropped his shoulder and worked his way to the rim. That’s the player Towns’ teammates need most, the guy who ignores the three-point line instead of camping behind it.
Dallas has forced Towns to the perimeter throughout the series. / Jesse Johnson-Keynote USA Sports
“We need him to be active around the rim,” Mike Conley said. “We need him to be active in the paint. We need him finishing over his bigs and through contact because his game should not depend on whether he hits or misses three-pointers. “We have a lot of guys that can hold up and make shots for our team on the outside.”
This has been an excellent season for Minnesota, but there will be a reckoning next. Dallas is proof: if you’re not evolving, you’re not winning. Two years ago, the Mavs played in the conference finals, falling to the Golden State Warriors in five games. Only five players remain from that team and only two, Dončić and Josh Green, who are making a real impact. That 2022 series educated Dallas on what it needed to get to the next level. For Minnesota, this series could do the same.
Edwards is a superstar, Reid is on the rise and McDaniels is a ferocious perimeter defender. That trio is going nowhere and Rudy Gobert, who has two years left on his contract, is too complicated to negotiate. That leaves Towns. If Minnesota can’t win with him, Timberwolves management will likely look around to see if Towns can bring back players who can.
Heading into elimination, Minnesota’s confidence remains remarkably strong. The Timberwolves lost game two on a Dončić dagger and held the lead in game three with five minutes remaining. “It’s more frustrating than anything else,” Conley said. “Because we know what a good team we have.” The last time they faced elimination they got the Nuggets tattooed. They know the Mavericks will try to eliminate them early Tuesday, but Dallas could also be without Lively, who took a brutal knee to the back of the head in Game 3 and his status in this series going forward is uncertain.
“They’ve made the plays on both ends to win games,” Conley said. “They’ve just done a really good job in the last three or four minutes of games. (It’s) something we know we have to do better if we want to have a chance to win.”
There are playmakers on this Timberwolves roster, and Towns is one of them. He’s proud of his jump shot, but right now Minnesota doesn’t need it. The Timberwolves need the strong Towns, the physical Towns, the player who averaged almost 20 points in the first round and battled Nikola Jokić in the second. They need playoff Towns. More dunks, less floaters. More units, minus three. If Dallas falls short, Towns must make them pay for it. Talk is cheap. For Towns, it’s time to deliver.
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