Karl-Anthony Towns had yet another poor shooting night in Game 3 against the Dallas Mavericks as the Minnesota Timberwolves lost 116-107 to fall down 3-0. After the game, Towns admitted he was frustrated by all the misses, as he puts up 1,500 shots a day.
“I’ve got to laugh,” Towns said. “I’m putting up to 1,500 shots a day. Shot so well all playoffs, confidence is extremely high. To be having these unfortunate bounces and these looks that are just not going in, it’s tough. It’s tough, for sure.”
I thought 1,500 was a bit too high and the Inside the NBA crew felt the same. Draymond Green, Charles Barkley, and Kenny Smith all felt that Towns was lying.
“KAT capping,” Green said. “Nobody is shooting 1,500 shots a day right now.”
“I never took shots, I did makes,” Smith said. “To make 300 in a day takes about 45 minutes. If you’re taking 1,500, it’s gonna take you two-and-a-half hours, and you already practiced… It’s cap. Can we throw the cap right now at the camera?”
“The thing that’s funny about him saying that, first of all, he’s lying,” Barkley said. “… Let’s just say hypothetically he was telling the truth. If you’re shooting 1,500 threes, that’s the problem. It’s the type of shots he’s getting, that is the problem. It has nothing to do with him not working on his game.”
(starts at 0:29 mark):
Draymond, Kenny, and Chuck are “calling cap” on KAT’s claim that he’s putting up 1,500 shots per day 😭 pic.twitter.com/X0Hnp5g580
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 27, 2024
Barkley was also critical of Towns for not working on his mid-range and post-up game. Having multiple effective ways to score certainly would be ideal for the Timberwolves big man, with how that outside shot has deserted him at this point. Here’s a look at just how poorly Towns has shot the ball in this series.
Game 1: 16 PTS – 6-20 FGM – 2-9 3PM
Game 2: 15 PTS – 4-16 FGM – 1-5 3PM
Game 3: 14 PTS – 5-18 FGM – 0-8 3PM
Towns has gone 15-54 (27.8%) from the field and 3-22 (15.6%) from beyond the arc in this series. That’s flat-out dreadful and worryingly for the Timberwolves, that outside shot has not been falling for a while now.
Towns shot 58.1% from three in his first seven games of these playoffs but in the last seven, he has shot just 17.1%. The Timberwolves have lost five of the last seven as a result and they need their big man to get it going in Game 4 against the Mavericks if they are to extend this series.
What made Towns’ shooting struggles against the Mavericks somewhat amusing, was that Dirk Nowitzki had attended Game 3. Years ago, Towns had claimed he was the greatest shooter among big men in NBA history. To then falter the way he did when Nowitzki was watching, was not great.
It really is a shame how this postseason is panning out for Towns, who is averaging 15.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.0 steals per game against the Mavericks. He had played ever so well in the earlier rounds against the Phoenix Suns and then against the Denver Nuggets.
In the Conference Semifinals against the Nuggets, the four-time All-Star did such an admirable job of guarding Nikola Jokic while also contributing fairly well on offense. With how disappointingly this season looks to be ending, though, all that good work done by Towns will be brushed aside by his critics.
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