https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/nba-logos/min.png

Timberwolves

<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://twitter.com/Twolves_PR/status/1347679620020236291" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Minnesota Timberwolves PR</a> announced via Twitter that All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns will be listed as 'questionable' for Saturday&rsquo;s game against the San Antonio Spurs. 
Towns last played on Dec. 26 in a 116-111 win over the Utah Jazz (and he finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 three in 30 minutes). What was initially believed to be a sprained wrist ended up being a bit more serious; Towns was diagnosed with a dislocated left wrist on Dec. 27 when he was re-evaluated in Los Angeles.
Through two games this season, KAT has averaged 19 points, 11.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists in 30 minutes on the court. The Timberwolves have not won a game since Towns went down with his wrist injury, as they are currently riding a six-game losing streak heading into Saturday's game against the Spurs. Expect updates on Town's status just prior to tip off at 8 p.m. ET.

Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns (wrist) is listed as 'questionable' vs. the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.

Karl-Anthony Towns (wrist) questionable for Saturday

MRI on left wrist of Minnesota star Karl-Anthony Towns shows no bone damage. Team calling him &ldquo;questionable&rdquo; for game against Lakers tonight. 
Source: <a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1343296315455893506" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter)</a>
ANALYSIS: Karl-Anthony Towns went down with a wrist injury in Minnesota's win vs Utah last night, but T-Wolves fans can breathe a sigh of relief as the injury does not appear serious. The Timberwolves are one of four teams in the West off to a 2-0 start and will look to stay perfect on the season as they take on the Lakers tonight who will be without <a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-russell-westbrook-kawhi-leonard-anthony-davis-injury" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anthony Davis (calf contusion)</a>.

Karl-Anthony Towns (wrist) is questionable vs Lakers.

Karl-Anthony Towns (wrist) questionable vs Lakers

The Minnesota Timberwolves have managed to be the center of the NBA universe twice in a three-day span.
On Friday night, Anthony Edwards converted a poster dunk -- yes, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-dunks-poster-posterized-dunktionary-nekias-duncan-slam-putback-flyby-fastbreak-transition-lebron-james-vince-carter-blake-griffin-shaq-gerald-green-demar-derozan-larry-nance-jr-jayson-tatum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an actual poster</a> -- with remnants of <a href="https://youtu.be/gOcdOF04-wk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">McGrady-on-Bradley</a> shining through. The dunk was so nasty, the conversation around it turned into a philosophical debate about single-game analysis and what really matters.&nbsp;
On Sunday night, the Wolves fired head coach Ryan Saunders. The move itself wasn&rsquo;t a shock; even within the context of injuries and COVID woes, a league-worst 7-24 record following a 19-45 campaign the year before doesn&rsquo;t inspire much confidence. Beyond bad and/or unavailable personnel, the process on both ends of the floor screamed, &ldquo;This needs to be shaken up, and quickly.&rdquo;
The hiring of Raptors assistant Chris Finch is one worth being optimistic about. He&rsquo;s long been regarded as one of the best offensive minds in basketball; heck, the Wolves interviewed him for the head gig before eventually hiring Saunders after the 2018-19 season. The existing history between Finch and the Wolves, specifically team president Gersson Rosas -- the two worked together in Houston as part of their then-D-League affiliate -- takes away some of the awkwardness of a hmm-that-was-quick coaching search.
While it&rsquo;s fair to feel uneasy about the <a href="https://twitter.com/Dame_Lillard/status/1363704821497298945?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">optics of the hire</a>, the bottom line remains: this is a team in need of major overhaul. They have a generational offensive talent in Karl-Anthony Towns that they need to build around in an effective manner.
Towns recently expressed his desire to build a legacy in Minnesota, but he&rsquo;ll need help. The clock is ticking, and the Wolves don&rsquo;t necessarily have, say, Blazers-esque front-office competency to fall back on and feel super comfortable banking on Towns being their Damian Lillard. Here&rsquo;s how the Wolves should go about building this thing out.
UNLEASH QUARTERBACK KAT
Making sure your best player gets a healthy amount of touches isn&rsquo;t a profound analysis. At this point, it isn&rsquo;t as simple as getting Towns the ball: the Wolves need to reconfigure their thoughts on what Towns is.&nbsp;
He isn&rsquo;t just a talented three-level scorer; he has the scoring gravity and, more importantly, the passing chops needed for him to operate as a primary initiator. I mean this solely in terms of usage: the Wolves have to treat Towns more like Nikola Jokic and less like Nikola Vucevic.
<a href="https://twitter.com/C2_Cooper">Caitlin Cooper</a> of Indy Cornrows, the Indiana Pacers&rsquo; blog for SB Nation, wrote <a href="https://www.indycornrows.com/2020/10/6/21501224/how-chris-finch-could-invert-the-pacers-offense-with-continuous-spacing">a fantastic piece</a> detailing Finch&rsquo;s offensive philosophy. Though it was written within the context of how his hiring could juice the Pacers&rsquo; offense and maximize the talents of Domantas Sabonis, many of those points are applicable to the Wolves and Towns.
The major theme of that piece, and what&rsquo;s important to gather in relation to a shift in usage for Towns, is the inversion of the offense. To put it simply: instead of primarily using actions that feature guards feeding Towns down low, Towns should be the primary initiator, stretching defenses from above the break to open up possibilities for everyone else.
We know what Towns brings to the table as a scorer. He&rsquo;s drained at least 40 percent of his threes in each of the past four seasons -- a 41.1 percent clip on nearly five attempts over that span. He&rsquo;s a sniper with his feet set, but adds another layer of terror by being able to fly off pindowns.&nbsp;
Per Synergy, Towns has graded in the 86th, 74th, 59th, and 81st percentile as a post scorer. His blend of touch, strength and footwork are rivaled by only a handful of players in the league.
Towns&rsquo; passing ability just hasn&rsquo;t been tapped into enough. Some of that starts with his actual placement in the offense. Towns has ranked 38th (3.6), 28th (3.6), 33rd (3.3), and 43rd (2.5) in <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/touches/?sort=ELBOW_TOUCHES&amp;dir=1&amp;Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">elbow touches per game</a> over the past four seasons. For reference, Jokic, Sabonis, and Marc Gasol have taken turns leading the league during that stretch with double (and sometimes triple) the volume.
What&rsquo;s frustrating is that the Wolves have hinted at different actions that highlight Towns&rsquo; scoring gravity and passing ability.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/kat-blind-pig.gif" alt="" width="706" height="AUTO" />
This is a variation of &ldquo;blind pig&rdquo; action -- a pitch to a high-post hub as another player cuts off of him simultaneously. It&rsquo;s about the pass -- you have to have a certain level of timing and touch to pull this action off -- but it&rsquo;s also about the placement. Towns being stationed just inside the arc brings Dwight Powell above the free-throw line. You can quibble about Powell being caught flat-footed instead of being more on his toes, but the recovery angle is tougher because of how high he&rsquo;s brought out. Ricky Rubio isn&rsquo;t even an explosive athlete, but with him catching the pass with a full head of steam, there&rsquo;s no time for Powell to turn and affect the shot.
If you want a more traditional example of an elbow touch, try this possession on for size:
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/kat-horns.gif" alt="" width="702" height="AUTO" />
It&rsquo;s a HORNS alignment. Nothing fancy, but it&rsquo;s important to note the positioning of LaMarcus Aldridge. He&rsquo;s basically in Towns&rsquo; jersey. As Malik Beasley &ldquo;ghosts&rdquo; the back-screen for Juancho Hernangomez and cuts, the paint is completely exposed.&nbsp;
What&rsquo;s special about Towns is that, though he can execute these sorts of sets, there&rsquo;s an improvisational aspect to his game just waiting to be explored.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/kat-fake-cross%2C-manipulation.gif" alt="" width="706" height="AUTO" />
The Wolves are setting up a cross-screen underneath the basket to get Towns a post-up. Towns reverses course on the fly, rejecting the screen and lifting up to the wing. Nerlens Noel has to take the road less traveled to get there; Towns pumps, drives, then finds Jaden McDaniels after reading the &ldquo;tag&rdquo; from Reggie Bullock.
The Wolves are an odd case to where they&rsquo;ve taken the &ldquo;right&rdquo; shots -- only the Rockets (82.8%) and Raptors (77.3%) have taken a <a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/totals/nba/team?Season=2020-21,2019-20&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;StartType=All" target="_blank" rel="noopener">larger share of their shots at the rim or from three</a> than the Wolves (76.4%) over the past two seasons -- but the offense has still been terrible. The first step to correcting that issue is leveraging the full breadth of Towns' skill set. Shots at the rim and threes are inherently valuable, but you still have to create quality looks from those areas.
PULLING THE PLUG EARLY
&ldquo;Towns and D&rsquo;Angelo Russell have only played five games together! The Wolves don&rsquo;t really know what they have in them yet.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s a common, somewhat reasonable counter to the dire straits the Wolves find themselves in. You can&rsquo;t call an experiment a failure if you haven&rsquo;t had the opportunity to test it out.
[taps forehead]
I&rsquo;m not sure how hot of a take this is, but I&rsquo;d argue the Wolves have seen enough. In the case of Russell, he&rsquo;s young (25), but not young enough to where we don&rsquo;t have a handle on his strengths and weaknesses. There&rsquo;s still room and time for him to grow, but we have the template: a pull-up artist with good passing vision that doesn&rsquo;t pressure the rim, and a poor defender with limited upside.
Russell has utility, but it&rsquo;s fair to question if he&rsquo;s truly a core piece you want to build with long-term. The &ldquo;poor defender with limited upside&rdquo; bit may seem harsh, but the Wolves want to build a winner around Towns at a certain point. That means thinking about what this team will look like in a playoff setting. Within that context, having Russell at the point of attack in end-of-game scenarios is problematic for obvious reasons.
About that utility: the bulk of Russell&rsquo;s value comes on the offensive end. He&rsquo;s a slithery guard in high ball-screen situations with an ability to pull-up from just about anywhere. When he&rsquo;s rolling, he&rsquo;s able to leverage the threat of his shot to sling cross-court dimes when the defense rotates early.
In a world where Towns soaks up more playmaking usage, how valuable is Russell to the offense? When you add in the context of Malik Beasley further establishing himself as a stationary and movement shooter, the downhill fire that Edwards brings and the borderline destructive nature of Russell&rsquo;s defense, what exactly is the argument to him being QB2 on the Wolves&rsquo; core list?
To be clear, the defensive fit for Russell is a much more pressing issue than the offensive fit. And while I understand the Wolves don&rsquo;t have to choose between two of the Russell/Edwards/Beasley triumvirate, there may be diminishing returns with keeping Russell long term.
It&rsquo;s hard to imagine there wouldn&rsquo;t be teams that could talk themselves into a shot creation upgrade: Philadelphia, Dallas, New York and Memphis come to mind. There are some workable &ldquo;young secondary ball-handler + defensive pieces&rdquo; deals to be had if you fire up your local trade machine.&nbsp;
STEPPING UP
Minnesota will need to up its level defensively, figuratively and literally. Though we&rsquo;ve seen stretches of improvement, Towns remains a less-than-ideal backline anchor. The Wolves mostly deploy him in drop coverage, keeping him near the rim to contest shots and clean the glass.
The issue is that Towns still struggles to navigate the gap while dropping. Too often, he&rsquo;s caught dropping back too far and giving up easier intermediate shots (you want long twos in an ideal world), or he&rsquo;s lunging at the ball-handler and giving up an easy pass behind him.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/kat-bad-drop.gif" alt="" width="706" height="AUTO" />
You can see what Towns was thinking: &ldquo;My guy got caught; I need to take away the elbow jumper!&rdquo; He seemingly had no faith in McDaniels (No. 3) providing &ldquo;nail&rdquo; help to either take away a potential pull-up or contest it. The result was Towns taking himself out of the play.
At this point, I&rsquo;m interested in seeing the Wolves take the opposite approach: bring Towns to the level of the screen or have him hard hedge. Force some activity.&nbsp;
The Wolves now have a pair of versatile forwards -- McDaniels and Jarred Vanderbilt -- that provide real value as weakside rim protectors. To draw on the Jokic/Nuggets example from earlier in the piece: McDaniels or Vanderbilt would be Minnesota&rsquo;s version of Paul Millsap in this scheme. You can afford to put two to the ball, in pick-and-rolls or on drives if you have this kind of explosiveness behind you.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/mcdaniels-swat.gif" alt="" width="706" height="AUTO" />
We have enough evidence that Towns isn&rsquo;t capable of anchoring a defense right now. If he can&rsquo;t navigate space and make reads on the fly, simplify his job and surround him with length and athleticism so there&rsquo;s less to navigate.&nbsp;

Nekias Duncan dives into how the Wolves can maximize Karl-Anthony Towns' underutilized skill set on both ends of the floor.

Reshaping the Timberwolves in Karl-Anthony Towns' image

Tonight's scheduled contest between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Memphis Grizzlies has been postponed.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1350215365167616000" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania/Twitter</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;Wolves star center Karl-Anthony Towns announced via social media that he has tested positive for COVID-19. <a href="https://twitter.com/KarlTowns/status/1350223070376595460/photo/1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">His statement reads</a>:
"Prior to tonight's game, I received another awful call that I tested positive for COVID. I will immediately isolate and follow every protocol.&nbsp;I pray every day that this nightmare of a virus will subside and I beg everyone to continue to taking it seriously by taking all the necessary precautions.&nbsp;We cannot stop this virus alone; it must be a group effort done by all of us.
"It breaks my heart that my family, particularly my father and sister, continue to suffer from the anxiety that comes with this diagnosis, as we know all too well what the end result could be," Towns added. "To my niece and nephew, Johlani and Max, I promise you I will not end up in a box next to grandma and I will beat this."
Towns has lost seven family members to the coronavirus, including his mother, Jaqueline Towns.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

The two sides played against each other on Wednesday in a 118-107 Grizzlies victory.

Wolves-Grizzlies game postponed, Karl-Anthony Towns tests positive

On Feb. 1, Towns was cleared to join the team on a road trip that began in Cleveland. He had worked his way back after losing 50 pounds while recovering from COVID-19. &ldquo;I was as big as D&rsquo;Angelo [Russell],&rdquo; he jokes. &ldquo;I was as big as our guards. You think I&rsquo;m gonna play center?&rdquo;
Source: <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2021/09/27/karl-anthony-towns-covid-19-daily-cover" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michael Pina/Sports Illustrated</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;Pina describes the harrowing experiences Towns has had over the past two years, including the death of his mother due to COVID-19 and the toll the pandemic has taken on his mental health. Towns is the longest-tenured player on the Timberwolves and remains the face of the franchise. As Pina writes, he is entering 2021-22 with a renewed sense of determination.
It should also be noted that Towns has repeatedly affirmed his desire to be in Minnesota long-term. Pina writes, "According to someone close to Towns, nothing related to that goal was altered in any meaningful way by [Gersson] Rosas&rsquo;s dismissal. A contract extension is already on his radar."

Towns lost his mother to COVID-19 and battled the virus himself as part of a harrowing last two seasons.

Karl-Anthony Towns lost 50 pounds while recovering from COVID-19

Wizards&lsquo; Bradley Beal has entered health and safety protocols and is listed out tonight vs. Knicks.
Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns has entered COVID-19 protocols.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter)</a>
ANALYSIS: The NBA and NBPA are in talks to shorten the quarantine period from 10 to six days, but no deal has been finalized yet. Beal and Towns will likely be sidelined for the next several days unless they test our or the league agrees to a shortened quarantine period.

According to The Athletic, Bradley Beal and Karl-Anthony Towns have both entered health/safety protocols.

Bradley Beal, Karl-Anthony Towns latest stars to enter health/safety protocols

The&nbsp;<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/karl-anthony-towns-proclaims-himself-the-greatest-3-point-shooting-big-man-of-all-time/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-stringify-link="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/giannis-antetokounmpo-shares-why-he-doesnt-associate-or-practice-with-other-nba-players-in-the-offseason/" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">following article</a>&nbsp;first appeared on&nbsp;<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="http://basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="http://BasketballNetwork.net" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">BasketballNetwork.net</a>:
If you are a big man in today&rsquo;s NBA, a three-point shooting stroke is no longer a bonus. In fact, it should be a part of the standard package. Among the perimeter shooting bigs in the NBA, Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns has arguably the smoothest stroke of them all.
So much so that KAT declared himself as the best three-point-sniping big man to ever grace an NBA floor in a <a href="https://theathletic.com/3006124/2021/12/16/karl-anthony-towns-anthony-edwards-and-the-conversations-that-spur-a-partnership/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sitdown with The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski</a>.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m the greatest big man shooter of all time. That&rsquo;s a fact," Towns <a href="https://theathletic.com/3006124/2021/12/16/karl-anthony-towns-anthony-edwards-and-the-conversations-that-spur-a-partnership/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told The Athletic in a recent interview</a>. "You can see the stats. I ain&rsquo;t got to play like no one else. Everyone trying to find themselves to be the second version of me when I&rsquo;m the first version. I don&rsquo;t got to be the second version of someone else. I&rsquo;m already an original. I don&rsquo;t have to be a duplicate of someone else.&rdquo;
Stats back up Towns&rsquo; claims. Not counting the ongoing 2021-22 NBA season, KAT has knocked down a total of 629 threes on a 39.4% clip in his first six years in the NBA. In that same amount of time, Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki had 667 makes on 37.2% shooting from deep. Over his entire career, Dirk tallied 1,982 triples on 38.0% shooting from distance.
To further test out Towns&rsquo; argument, we checked out other three-point shooting bigs and their numbers in their first six years in the NBA.
Antoine Walker: 724/2160 (33.5%)
Kevin Love: 440/1215 (36.2%)
Rasheed Wallace: 117/397 (29.5%)
To be fair with the likes of Love and Wallace, they were able to boost their three-point shooting numbers later on. Currently, Love has cashed-in a total of 1329 3-pointers on 37.1%. Wallace picked up his shooting during his tenure in Detroit, and ended his career with 1,086 threes on 33.6%.
Nikola Jokic is making his way into increasing his numbers beyond the arc, and has shot over 38% from downtown over his last two seasons. Joel Embiid is on a similar track over the last couple of campaigns (37.4%), and Nikola Vucevic is firing them up at a high clip in recent years as well.
But getting back to Towns, the young man sure does his research before saying anything. It wasn&rsquo;t just oozing self-confidence or lack of respect to his elders that made him utter such a bold declaration. He&rsquo;s really on pace to be the most lethal of them all.
If he manages to remain healthy and knocks down 75-to-150 long-rangers per season for the rest of his career, he might be able to overtake Nowitzki as the most proficient shooting big man of all time. But being the greatest is a tough task.
So far, KAT has drained his shots in regular-season games. Dirk dropped his in many playoff series, and led the Mavs to one of the most improbable NBA titles in recent history.
Stats are great for quantity, but let&rsquo;s not forget the quality as well.
Check out more articles from BasketballNetwork.net&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

In an interview with The Athletic, Karl-Anthony Towns was more than confident to proclaim he's the best big-man shooter in NBA history.

Karl-Anthony Towns says he’s the best shooting big in NBA history

When Karl-Anthony Towns tested positive for the coronavirus in mid-January, the Minnesota Timberwolves desperately needed somebody to rise to the occasion in their star's absence.&nbsp;
Naz Reid knew he had to be the one to step up.
The burly big man had already been making his mark as a regular in head coach Ryan Saunders' rotation, playing 20 minutes a night until that point. But with his face-of-the-franchise teammate sidelined, Reid burst onto the scene while holding down the fort as a starter (aside from one matchup at Cleveland).
In 11 games between Jan. 18 and Feb. 8, Reid averaged 14.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, emerging as an efficient contributor on offense and a stout presence on defense. He notched eight double-digit scoring efforts and recorded a pair of double-doubles.
&ldquo;I mean, going out as a team, one of our best players is out, so going out there and trying to do something similar to what he did, if not better,&rdquo; Reid told BasketballNews.com in an exclusive phone interview. &ldquo;And also, within the game, helping myself moving forward.
"[KAT] means a lot. Like I said, he's one of our better players on the team. He can do it [all] -- passing, shooting, defense, all that stuff. So when we don't have him, we're missing a big factor for this team. And stepping up in his role, it was definitely a big role, but I was able to get it done for the most part."
Reid&rsquo;s relationship with Towns goes back many years to their upbringing in the New Jersey area, with Naz at Roselle Catholic High School and Karl-Anthony just 11 miles north at St. Joseph. Despite the four-year difference in age, the two played on the same AAU team together.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;'s a little bit of a bond already built," said Reid, who&rsquo;s reunited with his friend at the pro level. "I've learned a lot [from him], from outside of basketball to being on the court and doing what I do best -- from angles to high-post; it's a lot of things.&rdquo;
Unfortunately, we&rsquo;ve only seen a handful of minutes with both bigs on the floor together (Reid believes he and Towns are interchangeable at the four and the five). They have thrived separately, though.
Coming off of the bench on Wednesday night, Reid dropped his third 20-plus-point game of the season, and his second of the last three games. Arguably the most encouraging part of his sophomore campaign has been the different ways he puts the ball in the bucket.
Reid is an avid pick-and-popper. The Wolves draw up a ton of sets where he sets high screens for his teammates and, with a quick twitch, retreats to the top of the perimeter. When he attempts a jumper off these designs, he is <a href="https://basketball.instatscout.com/players/36606/playtypes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scoring 1.22 points per possession,</a> according to InStat. When he decides to put it on the floor off a pump fake, the results are similarly positive.
"I try to really just play to my strengths, being able to shoot the ball, [I] can drive the ball off the roll and score at the rim,&rdquo; Reid said. &ldquo;So I kinda just pick and choose off of what the defenders and my point guard's doing [and] just read that."
Whether it&rsquo;s a pop or a roll situation where he screens and moves into the paint, Reid doesn&rsquo;t have a particular preference. He just wants to get points out of the possessions he&rsquo;s involved in. There&rsquo;s more than one effective way he goes about accomplishing that.&nbsp;
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/usatsi_15540923-1_lg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="AUTO" />
In the post, he has a soft jump hook with great touch using either hand. He knows just how to time it and when to go to it, keeping an eye on which shoulder his defender is guarding him on and where the opposing help may come from. When he doesn&rsquo;t need to rush it, he&rsquo;ll turn and toss it up. When the opportunity presents itself, he&rsquo;ll immediately flip the ball towards the cylinder. He is &ldquo;very confident&rdquo; in that aspect of his game and takes it seriously.
On the outside, Reid possesses a feathery, rainbow jumper that&rsquo;s cashed in at a 39.7 percent clip on catch-and-shoots. Though the typical stretch-big stations himself in the corner -- and Reid does have 15 attempts from the left corner -- he tends to sneak back above the break or position himself at the right elbow. At his size and with a quick release, he agrees with the notion that it is a shot that is basically unblockable. He also understands that he can keep improving it.
&ldquo;It's always been like that since a younger age, since middle school, high school,&rdquo; Reid said of his high-arcing jumpshot. &ldquo;I would definitely say it's a leg up because a lot of bigger guys can't really defend pick-and-pop or know how to defend pick-and-pop, so it's definitely an advantage.
&ldquo;I've been shooting threes since I started playing basketball, really, and not knowing that big guys really don't shoot threes -- I just was firing 'em. Then, once I realized that can be a great expansion in my game, I worked on it a whole lot since I've really locked into basketball. I've had a lot of help from others. I don't think you're ever too old to learn anything, so I definitely [have] learned that and I'm still learning."
If you&rsquo;re looking for a mid-range savant, don&rsquo;t expect it from Reid. A couple of weeks ago, he became an analytics favorite by telling the world of his disdain for those looks. Even though it&rsquo;s more of a &ldquo;comfortability thing,&rdquo; he expanded on the thought to BasketballNews.com.
&ldquo;It's not that I can't shoot it. It's just ...I don't know. If I'm that close to the rim, I may as well get to the basket,&rdquo; Reid said. &ldquo;If I'm a little bit further from the basket and just take a three, it counts as more points. So I don't know, I just never... I never really shot mid-range. I don't think I ever really shot mid-range at all, so it kinda fits into our system."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
If you think of a big man in the NBA, a seven-footer typically comes to mind. The Renaissance of the hybrid center is upon us, with stars such as Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid commanding defensive attention, scoring at multiple levels and making their teammates better while simultaneously intimidating their opponents with their versatility.
Reid has a desire to follow that lead. In addition to observing Towns, he has studied film of Jokic and Embiid as well as Hall-of-Famers like Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal. He wants to mold himself into an all-around threat and be the best player he can be, even mentioning his goal of becoming a Hall-of-Famer someday.
Aware that he&rsquo;s not as tall as the top centers of the game at 6-foot-9, Reid utilizes his quickness, lateral movement and stronger base (a 264-pound frame) to get up under them aggressively and even the score.
"I'm a basketball player as well as them,&rdquo; Reid said. &ldquo;I'm an offensive player, so I kinda just play to my advantages, trying to get them to their disadvantages and be the best to my ability in the predicament that I'm in. I'm not the traditional size, but my work ethic is there and that's what helped me to get to this point now, by being able to do what I can do at my size."
Though he considers himself an offensive player, Reid has done a solid job of protecting the paint. Per InStat, opponents have made just <a href="https://basketball.instatscout.com/players/36606/fieldgoals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">32 percent of their layup attempts</a> against him. That&rsquo;s especially impressive when he&rsquo;s seen the 10th-most amount of cut shots in the league as a defender. When discussing why he's had success, he mentions his awareness on the defensive end and his timing when Minnesota needs a helper.
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter__right" data-qa="message_content">
<div class="c-message_kit__blocks c-message_kit__blocks--rich_text">
<div class="c-message__message_blocks c-message__message_blocks--rich_text">
<div class="p-block_kit_renderer" data-qa="block-kit-renderer">
<div class="p-block_kit_renderer__block_wrapper p-block_kit_renderer__block_wrapper--first">
<div class="p-rich_text_block" dir="auto">
<div class="p-rich_text_section">Reid gets particularly competitive when scorers try to attack him, especially guards. He remembers how Luka Doncic squeezed by him often on the perimeter in a near comeback win at Dallas. It&rsquo;s a big-man pride thing. (On the opposite end, he feels the same way about smaller guys guarding him on the block.)</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
&ldquo;It's part of the game not to let them score on me,&rdquo; Reid said adamantly. "I definitely take that personal."
He also emphasized the importance of altering shots down low, something he&rsquo;s worked on extensively with Towns and Wolves assistant coach Kevin Hanson.
Last season, the Wolves gave a rookie Reid the opportunity to play significant minutes post-All-Star break. There were ups and downs, however, the experience gained is something he is grateful for, and it has certainly played into how far he&rsquo;s come now.
"Just having more confidence and playing with a purpose and playing hard and having a lot more energy and doing the things that the team needs to get a win,&rdquo; Reid said. &ldquo;It wasn't easy, but I learned quickly, I picked up [things] quickly and I was able to move forward with the next step.
&ldquo;I would say that [getting used to the speed of the league] and just learning the game of NBA basketball, it's a lot different. You've got great players. I think it's one of the best leagues in the world, so you're playing against other players who can do what you can do, if not better [than you], so just trying to adjust to that."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Just as Reid is learning, so is his team. The Wolves are the youngest team in the NBA, with an average age of 23.9 years old, and their 6-20 record is reflective of that. Handling the losing is not easy, but there are ways to turn negatives into positives.
&ldquo;Just competing, keep fighting and learning from our losses,&rdquo; Reid said. &ldquo;I don't think it's a loss unless you learn. If you learn [from] what you've done before, you can get better at any time or any moment. I feel like that's just something that we take pride in, making it a lesson instead of a loss.
&ldquo;We know we've got a lot more fight to give and we've got a lot more to prove. It's not ideal for us to be the youngest team in the league, but it happens, so you just have to deal with it and get through it. We are getting better every day and every game, so that's something that we have to draw from since Game 1 to now. We're gonna win games. We haven't won as much as we've liked to so far, but [we're] definitely gonna win games and we're gonna keep learning and keep working hard and improving.&rdquo;
Whether Reid speaks that into existence remains to be seen, but it wouldn&rsquo;t be wise to bet against him. He&rsquo;s earned the trust of his teammates and his coaches in Minnesota, which is a testament to his hunger.
"It means a lot because they see my whole work ethic,&rdquo; Reid said. &ldquo;And I'm out there proving [myself] and they see it and they see a vision in me.&rdquo;

Spencer Davies spoke to Timberwolves big man Naz Reid about his strong play in Karl-Anthony Towns' absence and overall development.

Naz Reid has 'learned a lot' from longtime friend Karl-Anthony Towns

Minnesota Timberwolves All-NBA center Karl-Anthony Towns is expected to return to the lineup on Wednesday night according to <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1359595876654739456?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
After recovering from COVID-19 and missing the past 13 games, Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns is expected to return tonight vs. the Clippers, sources tell <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAthletic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheAthletic</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Stadium?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Stadium</a>.
&mdash; Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1359595876654739456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2021</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

Towns has missed 20 of the Wolves' 24 games this season between his bout with COVID-19 and a wrist injury suffered earlier in the season. In the four games Towns has played, he's averaged 22 points and 12.5 rebounds. The Wolves are 2-2 in the games he has been active this season.&nbsp;
Just under an hour after Charania tweeted his news, Towns inserted his thoughts on the matter.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
This is news to me! Last time I checked, I was gonna go through shootaround and see how I feel. Underlying conditions and Covid don&rsquo;t mix well. <a href="https://t.co/1fZHSTWnEt">https://t.co/1fZHSTWnEt</a>
&mdash; Karl-Anthony Towns (@KarlTowns) <a href="https://twitter.com/KarlTowns/status/1359609146631458816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2021</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

&nbsp;

Towns has missed Minnesota's last 13 games while dealing with COVID-19.

Karl-Anthony Towns expected to return from COVID-19 absence on Wednesday

The Minnesota Timberwolves took home a 116-112 win over the Toronto Raptors yesterday, and Karl-Anthony Towns sees one player growing into a bigger role: top pick Anthony Edwards.
"I've told Ryan that I believe we need to put the ball in Ant's hands more," Towns said.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/DaneMooreNBA/status/1361147905709604865">Dane Moore via Twitter</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;Edwards has gotten off to a slower start than some of the other rookies, but the No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft is starting to catch up. He has reached double-digit scoring in 12 of his last 13 games and scored 20 or more points in five of those contests. Edwards put up 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the win on Sunday.
&nbsp;

Edwards scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a 116-112 win on Sunday.

Karl-Anthony Towns: 'We need to put the ball in Ant's hands more'

Boston's Jayson Tatum and Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns were named the NBA's Players of the Week for Week 9.
Here is the official release from the NBA:
"Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum and Minnesota Timberwolves forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns have been named the NBA Players of the Week for Week 9.
The All-Star forward (Jayson Tatum) powered Boston to a 2-1 week, starting with a 42-point performance in a win against the Bucks. He had 27 points in a narrow loss to the Warriors and capped the week with a 25-point performance in a win against the Knicks. Overall, he averaged 31.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists during Week 9. The Celtics (15-15) are the No. 7 seed in the East standings.
Minnesota&rsquo;s star big man (Karl-Anthony Towns) was a standout throughout Week 9 as the Timberwolves rolled up a 3-0 mark. Towns averaged 28 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks on 54.7% shooting in wins against the Nuggets, Lakers and Mavericks. The Timberwolves (15-15) are the No. 8 seed in the West standings."
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/towns-tatum-potw_lg.jpeg" alt="" />

Jayson Tatum and Karl-Anthony Towns have won player of the week honors for week 9.

Jayson Tatum, Karl-Anthony Towns win Player of the Week honors for Week 9

After the win, KAT, Edwards and Okogie met with George Floyd's family, who live in Houston, and gave them the game ball from the Sacramento win, which they dedicated to Floyd and his family.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/JonKrawczynski/status/1387253697655320576" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter)</a>

Timberwolves' Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, and Josh Okogie all met with George Floyd's family after the team's win.

Wolves met with George Floyd’s family, gave them game ball from Kings win

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 24 points, D&rsquo;Angelo Russell added 22 and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Dallas Mavericks 111-105 on Sunday in another matchup between short-handed teams dealing with recent COVID-19 issues.
Dallas, already without star guard Luka Doncic, placed two players in the health and safety protocols the past two days. Minnesota added Josh Okogie to the protocols and Anthony Edwards and Taurean Prince each missed their second game while in the protocols.
The Mavericks then lost forward Kristaps Porzingis in the third quarter with right foot soreness. Porzingis finished with 13 points and three rebounds.
Jaylen Nowell provided a much-needed injection of shooting with a season-high 16 points off the bench for Minnesota, which has won four in a row.
Tim Hardaway Jr. had 28 points for Dallas. Dorian Finney-Smith added 23 and Jalen Brunson finished with 18 points and 11 assists.
The Timberwolves led for much of the game, but Dallas closed the third quarter on an 18-7 run to take an 88-86 lead. The Mavericks outscored Minnesota 38-30 in the quarter, but Porzingis left the game with 4:59 left in the third and didn&rsquo;t return.
Minnesota turned to Nowell, who hit a 3-pointer early in the fourth as the Timberwolves recovered with a 13-5 run.
Without Edwards and with Michael Beasley&rsquo;s continued struggles shooting, the little-used Nowell was a perfect relief. He scored in double figures for the second straight game and the third time in five games.
COVID-19 STRIKES AGAIN
A day after placing Reggie Bullock in the health and safety protocols, Dallas added Josh Green to the protocols before the game. Coach Jason Kidd also said assistants Darrell Armstrong and Jared Dudley are in the protocols.
The Los Angeles Lakers, who have also lost several players to the protocols, played the Mavericks on Dec. 15 in Dallas&rsquo; last game.
Previous to playing Los Angeles, the Mavericks didn&rsquo;t have many cases of COVID-19 to enter into the protocols. Trey Burke, in late October, is the only player to previously be in the protocols.
Before the game, Kidd said he wasn&rsquo;t making any medical determinations, but &ldquo;some who are into betting or guessing, some would say that&rsquo;s where it came from,&rdquo; he said, regarding the Lakers&rsquo; game.
Coincidentally, Edwards and Prince missed Friday&rsquo;s game against Los Angeles and Okogie was added after playing 13:29 in the game.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Hardaway moved into the starting lineup for the first time in 10 games. Bullock had started nine straight games. G Sterling Brown (left foot soreness) returned after missing six games. &hellip; Willie Cauley-Stein (personal reasons), Frank Ntilikina (illness) and Eugene Omoruyi (right foot injury) were also unavailable for Dallas. &hellip; Finney-Smith was assessed a Flagrant 1 foul in the third quarter on a hard takedown of Towns.
Timberwolves: Beasley started his second straight game for Edwards and scored 13 on 4-of-13 shooting. &hellip; Towns made his first 11 free throws. He finished 11 of 13 from the line. ... With Nowell leading the way, Minnesota&rsquo;s bench outscored Dallas&rsquo; reserves 36-17
UP NEXT
The team&rsquo;s finish back-to-back meetings on Tuesday in Dallas.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 24 points, D’Angelo Russell added 22 and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Mavericks.

Wolves beat Dallas 111-105; Mavs lose Porzingis to injury

"The Knicks own the eighth pick in the upcoming draft and likely over $50 million in cap space. However, both the 2020 draft and free agent classes are considered weak. The Knicks, are interested in Toronto&rsquo;s Fred VanVleet, according to a source, but throwing a ton of money at an undersized point guard is risky.&nbsp;
<div id="fEG79R1avxRm7s" class="wrapper clearfix pb-curated full pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-article-body" data-pb-name="Article Body (Elements)" data-pb-curated="curated" data-pb-id="unnamed-feature">
<div class=" clln clln-crd oflw cs__ctn__border-bottom">
<div class="crd clln--it" data-type="text">
<div class=" crd--cnt ">
"Otherwise, the Knicks have accumulated enough assets to try a blockbuster trade and have been linked to two players who were once represented by [Leon] Rose: Minnesota&rsquo;s Karl-Anthony Towns and Phoenix&rsquo;s Devin Booker. However, those players, like [Donovan] Mitchell in the future, are locked up contractually by their respective teams for multiple years."
via <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/ny-knicks-donovan-mitchell-20200902-l4h7ytco65gw5icfj4asqpjicm-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News</a>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
ANALYSIS: Knicks president Leon Rose used to represent Towns and Booker when he was an agent at CAA. With that said, it seems extremely unlikely that either Towns or Booker will become available via trade. Both players are under contract through the 2023-24 season and seem virtually untouchable at the moment.
The Timberwolves just landed D'Angelo Russell and the No. 1 pick in this year's draft, so they're focused on surrounding Towns with talent. The 24-year-old is coming off of a career-year in which he averaged 26.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 3.3 threes, 1.2 blocks and 0.9 steals while shoting a ridiculous 50.8 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from three.&nbsp; Why would Minnesota deal Towns now?
The Suns nearly made the playofs after going 8-0 in the NBA bubble, so they are entering next season with a ton of momentum (in large part because of Booker's dominance). Booker just had a terrific season, averaging 26.6 points, 6.5 assists, 4.2 rebounds, 2.0 threes and 0.7 steals on 48.9/35.4/91.9 shooting splits. Why would Phoenix trade their 23-year-old star now?
The Knicks should focus on more obtainable options, like VanVleet.

The Knicks may "try a blockbuster trade and have been linked to" Karl-Anthony Towns and Devin Booker, writes Stefan Bondy.

Knicks 'have been linked to' Towns, Booker?

WASHINGTON (AP) &mdash; Montrezl Harrell scored 27 points and Bradley Beal added 19 to lift the Washington Wizards to a 115-107 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.
Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns had to leave the game with 2:14 remaining after injuring himself on a dunk.
Towns scored only two of his 34 points in the final period &mdash; and that was when he got free along the baseline for a dunk. After slamming the ball through, his momentum caused his body to fall horizontally and he appeared to land on his tailbone. <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1466248929612345344" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski</a> reported that X-rays on the lower back of Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns returned negative. 
Minnesota lost for just the second time in nine games.
It was tied at 95 when Davis Bertans made a 3-pointer to start a 12-3 run by the Wizards. Daniel Gafford added a dunk during that stretch, and Harrell capped the run with a dunk and a free throw. Neither team had led by more than eight before that three-point play made it 107-98 with 4:16 to go.
It was 112-107 in the final minute before Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made a 3-pointer to close out the scoring.
Gafford had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Wizards, who were back home after a four-game road trip.
Towns scored only three points in the first quarter, shooting 0 of 6 from the field. Then he scored 16 in the second and 13 in the third. Anthony Edwards had 25 points for the Timberwolves.
SUCCESS INSIDE
The Wizards outscored Minnesota 68-44 in the paint. Harrell shot 11 of 12 from the field and Gafford was 7 of 10.
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: F Jarred Vanderbilt returned after missing Monday night's win over Indiana because of flu-like symptoms. F Jaden McDaniels missed a second consecutive game for the same reason. ... G Patrick Beverley (left adductor strain) missed his fourth straight game.
Wizards: G Aaron Holiday (non-COVID-19 illness) missed the game.
UP NEXT
Timberwolves: Visit the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night.
Wizards: Host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.
___
Follow Noah Trister at https://twitter.com/noahtrister
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Karl-Anthony Towns got injured (back) late and the Wizards beat the Timberwolves 115-107 with Harrell leading the way (27 points).

Wizards beat Timberwolves 115-107; Towns hurt late

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — More than a year after acquiring D'Angelo Russell as the pick-and-roll initiator for pal Karl-Anthony Towns, the Minnesota Timberwolves finally closed this season with a full month of games that both halves of their star pairing were available to play in.
Their biggest takeaway from the longest stretch of time Towns and Russell have had together on the floor was that they're actually only two parts of what has quickly become a formidable trio.
Anthony Edwards filled his audition for the NBA Rookie of the Year award with high-flying dunks, timely 3-pointers and wide smiles, leaving the Timberwolves with no regret about making him the first overall pick in the draft. Towns and Russell will have to make room.
“They help me tremendously, because they can space the floor, so it makes it easier to get downhill," said Edwards, who led all first-year players in scoring at 19.3 points per game at age 19. "Because I’m so dynamic going downhill, it opens the '3' up for them. Like, I can just kick it, and they’re wide open. I think we’ve got a pretty good thing going here.”
The Timberwolves think so, too, even after yet another tumultuous season and the 16th time missing the playoffs in the last 17 years. 
Towns had wrist trouble and then COVID-19, a particularly painful time for him considering the disease led to his mother's death last year. Russell had knee surgery and was absent even longer than Towns. President of basketball operations Gersson Rosas fired head coach Ryan Saunders two months into the season, replacing him with Chris Finch.
Through it all, Edwards played in every game, the only one in Minnesota to do so in 2020-21, while minimizing his weaknesses with an infectious energy and confidence that fueled clear improvement over the course of his debut in the league. Each of his eight highest scoring totals — ranging from 29 to 42 points — came during the second half of the schedule.
“He doesn’t know how good he is and, scary enough for us, we don’t know how good he is. It feels so good to say that, because you’re talking about a 19-year-old who’s late to the sport," Rosas said, adding: “It’s not always pretty, not always efficient, but the signs of greatness are there.”
STILL HEALING
Towns played in 50 games and finished 19th in the league with an average of 24.8 points per game. His shooting percentage (48.6%) was a career low. His dislocated left wrist played a part in that, but he said he wouldn't need offseason surgery.
“I was impressed that I was even able to have that while just playing with one hand most of the year, and it’s hard to only finish with right hands,” Towns said.
STAYING PUT
Towns, who has three more seasons on his maximum contract, has seen the Timberwolves post their worst two winning percentages of his six-year career in the last two seasons. He's never even hinted at dissatisfaction with the Twin Cities market or the Timberwolves organization, though, going out of his way on multiple occasions over the last two years to express confidence in the direction of the team. Another one of those came Monday during his season-ending interview with reporters over video conference.
“I just really am happy that I’m still able to be here playing for this amazing city and state and be able to stay here and effect change in the community,” Towns said, “and I’m just so happy that I’ve been given a chance to play here in Minnesota.”
OTHER PIECES
Though Malik Beasley's legal trouble and hamstring injury limited him to 37 games, the Timberwolves are sold on him as a shooting guard, perhaps as a sixth man next season. Jaden McDaniels showed plenty of potential in his first season. Beyond the top five players, though, the rest of the roster remains up for grabs. Power forward is the most critical area to upgrade.
“It could be more of a physical rim-protecting type guy or an aggressive multi-skilled switch defender,” Finch said. “We’ll see what’s out there. I have every confidence in Gersson and his crew to bring us the best available guy, if that’s what we decide to do.”
LET'S PLAY PING PONG
The Timberwolves had the worst record in the league two months ago but passed five teams (Houston, Detroit, Orlando, Cleveland and Oklahoma City) and now have a 27.6% chance of landing one of the first three selections in the draft. If they don't get lucky in the lottery, they'll have to give up their first-rounder — which is top-three protected — to the Golden State Warriors to complete the trade they made last year for Russell.
___
More AP NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Rosas: "He doesn’t know how good he is and, scary enough for us, we don’t know how good he is. But the signs of greatness are there."

Wolves have another franchise cornerstone in Anthony Edwards

Heading into the 2021-22 NBA season, the Minnesota Timberwolves are one of the NBA&rsquo;s most intriguing teams. They have a solid young nucleus, a new head coach, new ownership, and a tough climb in terms of scaling the ladder in the Western Conference.
With so many teams either in win-now mode, or ascending rapidly thanks to internal development, Minnesota once again could be on the outside looking in for a real playoff opportunity in 2021-22.
In their current state, the T-Wolves have to rely on their 25-and-under trio of Karl-Anthony Towns, D&rsquo;Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards. When all of them were on the floor together last season, Minnesota was 13-11.&nbsp;
In a small sample size (324 minutes) featuring Minnesota's trio, their three-man lineup offensive rating was 120.9, which would&rsquo;ve ranked No. 1 for any team last season. However, the defensive rating checked in at 116.0 &mdash; a mark that puts Minnesota last in the Association for team-wide advanced metrics. Although the overall net rating for Minnesota&rsquo;s young Big 3 still checked in at +5.3, they were relying on outscoring the opposition at a pace that seemed unsustainable over a full 82-game schedule.
Toss starting shooting guard Malik Beasley into the mix &mdash; who has canned 40.6% of his three-pointers since arriving in Minnesota two years ago &mdash; and the total sample size for the four-man unit was 13 minutes. Yes, you read that right, 13 minutes. That's all that Towns, Russell, Edwards and Beasley suited up together for during the 2020-21 campaign.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Minnesota is betting on its young core to take necessary steps forward, but new head coach Chris Finch must also figure out how to utilize his pieces more efficiently. Once Finch replaced Ryan Saunders &mdash; an incredibly tough adjustment coming over from the Toronto Raptors &mdash; Minnesota&rsquo;s offense started to click into high gear. One of the biggest beneficiaries from Finch&rsquo;s arrival was 2020 No. 1 overall pick Anthony Edwards.
Edwards began to turn heads over the final stretch of last season, with many ending the campaign under the belief that he could eventually become a consistent 25-plus point per game scorer. Edwards&rsquo; emergence became one of the few bright spots from another downtrodden season for Minnesota.
Pre-All-Star Break: 14.9 points, 4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.9 steals; 37.1 FG%, 46.6 TS%
Post-All-Star Break: 23.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.4 steals; 45.4 FG%, 56.7 TS%
After the All-Star break, Edwards placed himself in elite company. Only six other players averaged his stat line and efficiency over that span: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Jayson Tatum and Julius Randle. During his rookie season at age 19, Edwards put the NBA world on notice; he&rsquo;s one of the brightest young wing scorers.
With Edwards&rsquo; fast rise, another rookie for Minnesota turned into a legitimate rotation piece: No. 28 overall pick Jaden McDaniels. Although McDaniels&rsquo; numbers weren&rsquo;t gaudy &mdash; 6.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.0 blocks in 24 minutes &mdash; his improvement as a shooter late in the season provides promise for him complementing their core. McDaniels drained 38.3% of his three-pointers after the All-Star break for Minnesota, where he also forced Finch&rsquo;s hand with his plus-defensive versatility. At his peak, McDaniels figures to be a jumbo 3-and-D do-it-all big who doesn&rsquo;t need plays run for him. He's already passed the eye test with flying colors, and now he should slide right in as Minnesota&rsquo;s starting power forward alongside Towns, Russell, Edwards and Beasley.
Minnesota also drafted point-forward Leandro Bolmaro from Argentina in the 2020 draft, who plans to join the roster after being stashed last season overseas. After Ricky Rubio was traded to Cleveland for veteran wing Taurean Prince, Bolmaro figures to play an important role as a playmaker off the bench immediately.
&ldquo;This draft class was a game-changer for this organization,&rdquo; <a href="https://theathletic.com/2738320/2021/08/11/jaden-mcdaniels-is-becoming-the-rare-late-first-round-success-story-for-the-wolves/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Timberwolves GM Gersson Rosas recently told The Athletic&rsquo;s Jon Krawczynski</a>. &ldquo;When it happens like that, you want to be right more often than you&rsquo;re wrong. And nobody&rsquo;s always right.&rdquo;
With high hopes for the 2020 draft haul helping pull Minnesota into real playoff contention eventually, how does their rotation stack up for 2021-22?
Starters = Russell, Beasley, Edwards, McDaniels, Towns
Second Unit = Bolmaro, Josh Okogie, Jarrett Culver, Prince, Juancho Hernangomez, Naz Reid
Although the starting lineup has huge potential &mdash; especially with the projected sophomore leaps for Edwards and McDaniels &mdash; Minnesota&rsquo;s second-unit is shallow on NBA experience and net-positive players. For the Timberwolves to become a real playoff threat, the Towns/Russell/Edwards trio needs to be dominant. And it&rsquo;s fair to wonder if Edwards needs to become his post-All-Star break self every single night for Minnesota to take those necessary steps forward.
Minnesota&rsquo;s core is locked in for the foreseeable future. Towns and Russell are best friends on-and-off the court and have a bond that developed during the 2015 pre-draft process. But is the former No. 2 overall pick the best fit moving forward with Edwards&rsquo; becoming a real 1B option?
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Moving forward, there&rsquo;s no reason for Minnesota to not treat Edwards as their second star behind Towns. He&rsquo;s already proven to have more two-way ability than Russell, who is an above-average three-level scorer. Still, the point guard has been graded across multiple metrics as the worst defender for his position. For a team starved of impact defenders, Russell is the opposite. He brings scoring and some playmaking, but not much else.
For Towns, the clock is already ticking in Minnesota. He&rsquo;s experienced the playoffs one time in his six-year career after being selected No. 1 overall. And that one appearance was due to Jimmy Butler, who is no longer with the franchise. Towns&rsquo; career record is nearly 100 games below .500 at 185-279. Halfway through his rookie-scale max contract extension &mdash; which expires after the 2023-24 season &mdash; the time is now for Minnesota to put the necessary pieces around him before it&rsquo;s too late.
Edwards feels like a lock to be a key cog in the Timberwolves' rise. McDaniels has shown flashes of a competent frontcourt partner alongside Towns. Questions still loom about Russell&rsquo;s overall value in a winning situation, but right now, Minnesota&rsquo;s roster is still on the youthful side of the spectrum.
Banking on the young core is a necessary risk for a small market like Minnesota, but there needs to be some urgency. If all goes well for the Timberwolves this season, these Towns-related concerns will wash away.
In the end, it'll be determined by whether this appealing core centered around he and Edwards stakes their claim as a rising team in the Western Conference.

The 2021-22 season will be an important one for the Timberwolves. Can they defy the odds and make an improbable run to the postseason?

Can the Timberwolves step forward in the loaded Western Conference?

The Timberwolves have maintained interest in Simmons throughout this saga.
The Wolves continue to have conversations with Philadelphia, but the challenge has been finding common ground to meet Morey&rsquo;s high demands. Karl-Anthony Towns and&nbsp;<a class="ath_autolink" href="https://theathletic.com/player/nba/timberwolves/anthony-edwards/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anthony Edwards</a>&nbsp;are off the table in any discussions.
Source: <a href="https://theathletic.com/3066096/2022/01/12/nba-trade-deadline-looms-but-ben-simmons-remains-a-sixer-what-do-we-know-and-which-teams-could-deal-for-him/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sam Amick and Jon Krawcynzski/The Athletic</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;The Timberwolves have won nine of their last 15 games and are right in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race. Amick reports that the Hawks, Pacers, Kings and Trail Blazers are also among the teams pursuing a Simmons trade. Towns and Edwards are both averaging over 22 points per game this season.&nbsp;
Amick adds: "In terms of Minnesota&rsquo;s level of interest, multiple rival executives have indicated that the Timberwolves aren&rsquo;t expected to do anything else trade wise that might take them out of the running for Simmons so long as they&rsquo;re still in it."

The Timberwolves have won nine of their last 15 games and are right in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race.

Wolves interested in Ben Simmons, Towns and Edwards untouchable

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Anthony Edwards is making it increasingly tougher for opponents to find a way to stop him. 
Edwards had 23 points, nine rebounds, four assists and a career-high five steals to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 101-96 victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday night. 
The rookie guard stayed active on defense and relentlessly pressured the rim on offense, giving Minnesota a much-needed boost at critical junctures. That all-around effort showed up most with his steals. Edwards, a former defensive back in high school, showed great anticipation in disrupting passing lanes. It helped him get out in transition and attack the rim for multiple easy baskets. 
“Anything I do defensively is going to translate on the offensive end,” Edwards said. 
Karl-Anthony Towns had 24 points and 12 rebounds, and D’Angelo Russell added 23 points for the Timberwolves, who beat league-leading Utah on the road for the second time this season. 
As a team, Minnesota tallied 13 steals against the Jazz. 
“If we’re giving up that many possessions, you make it virtually impossible,” Utah coach Quin Snyder said. “You have to almost be perfect in other aspects of the game.” 
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 30 points and made seven 3-pointers to lead the Jazz, who lost at home for just the fourth time overall this season. Mike Conley added 18 points and seven assists, and Rudy Gobert grabbed 17 rebounds.
Utah scored only 56 points over the final three quarters after tallying 40 points in the first quarter alone. 
“We just couldn’t find a way to score, especially in the second half,” Gobert said. “They played hard, they played with energy and they forced us into a lot of turnovers.”
The Jazz erased an 11-point deficit with a 12-0 run and took a 93-92 lead on Bogdanovic’s 3-pointer with 3:41 left. But Towns put the Timberwolves back ahead with a layup and Minnesota held Utah scoreless until the final seconds. 
“We stayed disciplined to what we wanted to do and how we wanted to get the job done and it worked out for us,” Towns said. 
The Timberwolves trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half before rallying to overtake the Jazz in the third quarter. Minnesota went ahead for the first time when Jaden McDaniels scored a layup off a steal, putting the Timberwolves up 62-61. 
His basket was part of a 20-7 run by Minnesota to open the second half. Edwards punctuated the stretch with a 3-pointer, extending the Timberwolves’ lead to 72-65. His first basket of the fourth quarter gave Minnesota its largest advantage at 92-81. 
“He has the ability to make plays not every player can,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “When you see that, you’re inspired.” 
Three consecutive 3-pointers from Bogdanovic, Royce O’Neale, and Joe Ingles highlighted an 11-0 run that helped Utah take a 23-10 lead midway through the first quarter. The Jazz eventually built a 33-16 lead later in the quarter after going 9 of 15 from the perimeter. 
Minnesota clawed back into the game just before halftime when the shots stopped falling for Utah. The Jazz shot just 29% from the field in the second quarter and made only two 3-pointers in that stretch. Edwards made three layups to fuel a 12-2 run that cut Utah’s lead to 58-52 going into the locker room. 
Things never got better for the Jazz offensively after halftime. 
“It’s another game where we have to learn from our mistakes,” Conley said. “We all had our times in the game where we wish we would have made a different decision or gave a little bit more effort.”
The teams will square off again Monday when Minnesota hosts Utah. 
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: Edwards has made 140 3-pointers this season, the fourth-highest single-season total for a Minnesota player. ... Minnesota committed zero turnovers during the second quarter. ... The Timberwolves outscored Utah 20-5 in second-chance points. ... Minnesota improved to 4-11 on zero days rest this season. 
Jazz: Conley eclipsed 5,000 career assists during the first quarter after dishing out five in the quarter. He now has 5,003 career assists. ... Jordan Clarkson missed three free throws in the first half, marking the first time he has missed multiple free throws in a game this season. ... Utah committed 20 turnovers, which led to 23 points for Minnesota. 
ONE REF SHORT
Veteran NBA referee Bill Kennedy went to the locker room after suffering an undisclosed injury in the first half and did not return after halftime. Only two referees — Scott Twardoski and Derek Richardson — worked the rest of the game. 
Kennedy was injured during the second quarter in another game he officiated involving the Jazz on February 27. Utah beat Orlando 124-109 in that contest. 
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Anthony Edwards had 23 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and a career-high 5 steals as the Timberwolves beat the Jazz 101-96 on Saturday.

Timberwolves rally to defeat Jazz in Utah for second time

Timberwolves: Karl-Anthony Towns suffered a left wrist dislocation and will be re-evaluated weekly on a return to play plan. 
Source: <a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1343361319018364928" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter)</a>
ANALYSIS: T-Wolves' Karl-Anthony Towns was deemed 'questionable' heading into their matchup with the Lakers tonight but after being re-evaluated in LA he has now been diagnosed with a dislocated left wrist. The injury will not require surgery and Towns is unlikely to miss significant time, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.

KAT is now out with a dislocated wrist after being re-evaluated.

Karl-Anthony