The Karl-Anthony Towns we saw at Kentucky will look nothing like the NBA version of Towns. John Calipari harbored Towns on the post to ensure that Towns developed a low post game and learned to handle the bruising that would come with being an NBA big man. Those tools will prove useful to Towns over the course of his NBA career but that will only be a small portion of his game. Towns is the prototypical modern NBA big man: he has deep shooting range, deft passing ability in the post, and protects the rim. Those aspects in Towns game are in their infant stage, but he showed off his shooting touch for Timberwolves fans in his very first preseason game.
If Towns shooting touch in his first taste of NBA action is any indication of his NBA potential, then we all need to find a bunker to hide in, because he is not of this Earth. Towns resembled a younger LaMarcus Aldridge with his free throw line extended post ups. There’s a shot he hits from the mid-post where he uses the wrong pivot foot in his triple-threat jab step, but Towns still drains the jumper. It’ll take time, but once he refines his footwork in the post he’ll be nearly unstoppable.
The only issue that may arise in Towns development is the location of his shot selection. Towns and and Andrew Wiggins like to operate from similar areas on the court. Further compounding that issue is the slow decay of the mid-range jump shot. It’s a weapon that can still be quite useful, as Dirk Nowitzki can attest, but building an offense around mid-range post ups could prove inefficent. It’s a macro problem that won’t affect Towns in the near future, but should be something to keep an eye on as this very talent young Wolves team begins to grow. For now, sit back and enjoy one of the league’s best young players.
(via NBA)
