Towns

[Coolbreeze44]

I see KAT as the biggest enigma of this season so far. Don't misunderstand me here, he's played very well for us and is still one of the bright young players in the game today. But to me he isn't where I thought he would be. I'm not sure he's even as good as he was last year. It seems he put a lot of pressure on himself to be one of the greats in only his second year. He's much more intent on going 1 on 3 than I saw last year. I'm not seeing the passing skills that had me excited during his rookie season. His shot selection has been abysmal in most games. And whereas last year I wanted him to shoot the 3 whenever he had an open look, I find myself cringing whenever he lines one up today.

Some of the bloom is off the rose. He seems clueless on defense. I'm hoping it's more youth and inexperience than anything else. But he needs to step up his game in multiple areas to remain the next best big man in the league.

[Monster]

He had a stretch recently where his offensive game was really terrific including the passing. The Wizards game was more of what he was doing before that. His transition to playing mostly PF hasn't gone smoothly. Some people aren't thrilled with him there. I can see the thought process of having him there on both ends. Regardless I think that's been part of the inconsistency along with what you said about him putting a lot of pressure on himself.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

The thing is, he can get 20 and 10 at the drop of a hat practically, which goes to show how talented he is. We almost take that for granted. As for his passing, he's averaging 3 assists per game. Now compare that to Wiggins, who gets just as many opportunities as KAT to make plays - if not more - and he's barely over 2 assists per game.

But I agree.....despite the great offensive stats, he often makes things more complicated than they need to be, whether it's driving into a wall of defenders at the rim when he should have just taken the 16-footer or trying to score over a double team in the post. Still.....I think he ultimately becomes a juggernaut offensively. He's sooooo gifted.

Defense is where he has been abysmal. He is absolutely terrible at team defensive concepts, which is so important for a big man. Dieng does what he can, but he's not enough to make up for KAT's terrible play on that side of the ball. It's by far my biggest concern with all three of these guys and I'm not seeing any light at the end of the tunnel.

[Lipoli390]

The thing is, he can get 20 and 10 at the drop of a hat practically, which goes to show how talented he is. We almost take that for granted. As for his passing, he's averaging 3 assists per game. Now compare that to Wiggins, who gets just as many opportunities as KAT to make plays - if not more - and he's barely over 2 assists per game.

But I agree.....despite the great offensive stats, he often makes things more complicated than they need to be, whether it's driving into a wall of defenders at the rim when he should have just taken the 16-footer or trying to score over a double team in the post. Still.....I think he ultimately becomes a juggernaut offensively. He's sooooo gifted.

Defense is where he has been abysmal. He is absolutely terrible at team defensive concepts, which is so important for a big man. Dieng does what he can, but he's not enough to make up for KAT's terrible play on that side of the ball. It's by far my biggest concern with all three of these guys and I'm not seeing any light at the end of the tunnel.

Good analysis, Q.

You point about KAT driving into a wall of defenders when he should take the open 16- foot jump shot is an interesting one. Last night, Jim Pete made that very point regarding a particular instance in the 4th quarter. I agreed with Jim. But Thibs' post-games indicated that he takes a different view. In reference to a question about KAT driving into defenders in the paint, Thibs said that he just needs to put the ball up stronger. He said nothing about taking the open jumper instead.

As backdrop to this discussion and others related to what players are doing and not doing, I think it's important to understand that a significant amount of what we see players do that we don't like is probably exactly what Thibs is telling them to do and preaching in practice. Friends I know from my old home town, Chicago, who watched him coach for years have told me he dictates every detail on the court. So when KAT is stepping out and taking threes repeatedly in a game, I think it's highly likely Thibs wants him to do just that. Similarly, the fact that KAT repeatedly passes up open 2-pointers in favor of tough drives to the basket is likely at the behest of Thibs -- rightly or wrongly. It's consistent with Thibs overall philosophy that puts a premium on attacking the paint and drawing fouls.

[Lipoli390]

I see KAT as the biggest enigma of this season so far. Don't misunderstand me here, he's played very well for us and is still one of the bright young players in the game today. But to me he isn't where I thought he would be. I'm not sure he's even as good as he was last year. It seems he put a lot of pressure on himself to be one of the greats in only his second year. He's much more intent on going 1 on 3 than I saw last year. I'm not seeing the passing skills that had me excited during his rookie season. His shot selection has been abysmal in most games. And whereas last year I wanted him to shoot the 3 whenever he had an open look, I find myself cringing whenever he lines one up today.

Some of the bloom is off the rose. He seems clueless on defense. I'm hoping it's more youth and inexperience than anything else. But he needs to step up his game in multiple areas to remain the next best big man in the league.

I agree, Cool. His rebounding remains terrific and is actually a little better statistically, And I still think he's been very good on the offensive end, although there has been some fall off in the specific areas you indicated. I agree with you on some of his shot selection. But an even greater enigma to me is that he's missing shots he consistently made last season -- little jump hooks and layups as well as three-pointers. And of course his defense has been bad and looks worse to me than last season. I wish I had an answer and I sure hope Thibs has an answer. I still like his effort. He just seems to be clueless to often on the defensive end and a bit overly eager at times on the offensive end. But as long as the effort and passion are there, I'm not worried. Cluelessness and mental mistakes as well as shot-selection and over-eagerness can all be remedied through experience. He seems like a smart dude, so I have no doubt about his ability to learn from his mistakes and improve. As long as we don't see repeated lapses of effort from him, I remain optimistic about him eventually becoming a star.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

He'll be demanding a trade sooner than later. Sorry, it's the wolves cynic in me.

[Coolbreeze44]

I see KAT as the biggest enigma of this season so far. Don't misunderstand me here, he's played very well for us and is still one of the bright young players in the game today. But to me he isn't where I thought he would be. I'm not sure he's even as good as he was last year. It seems he put a lot of pressure on himself to be one of the greats in only his second year. He's much more intent on going 1 on 3 than I saw last year. I'm not seeing the passing skills that had me excited during his rookie season. His shot selection has been abysmal in most games. And whereas last year I wanted him to shoot the 3 whenever he had an open look, I find myself cringing whenever he lines one up today.

Some of the bloom is off the rose. He seems clueless on defense. I'm hoping it's more youth and inexperience than anything else. But he needs to step up his game in multiple areas to remain the next best big man in the league.

I agree, Cool. His rebounding remains terrific and is actually a little better statistically, And I still think he's been very good on the offensive end, although there has been some fall off in the specific areas you indicated. I agree with you on some of his shot selection. But an even greater enigma to me is that he's missing shots he consistently made last season -- little jump hooks and layups as well as three-pointers. And of course his defense has been bad and looks worse to me than last season. I wish I had an answer and I sure hope Thibs has an answer. I still like his effort. He just seems to be clueless to often on the defensive end and a bit overly eager at times on the offensive end. But as long as the effort and passion are there, I'm not worried. Cluelessness and mental mistakes as well as shot-selection and over-eagerness can all be remedied through experience. He seems like a smart dude, so I have no doubt about his ability to learn from his mistakes and improve. As long as we don't see repeated lapses of effort from him, I remain optimistic about him eventually becoming a star.

Yeah Lip, the effort is strong and consistent on offense and rebounding. No problem there. But something is wrong on defense. It must be a lack of understanding because you would think he would play hard on that side of the ball too.

[Duke13]

Lip, I disagree with you a little. I saw Tibs post game interview last night as well and had the same reaction to his comment about driving the ball harder. Some of the post game comments need not be taken too literally I think. In almost all of his post games pressers he mentions passing and not holding onto the ball, swing the ball to the open guy. I really don't think Tibs telling Kat to go 1 on 3 in practice.

[Lipoli390]

Lip, I disagree with you a little. I saw Tibs post game interview last night as well and had the same reaction to his comment about driving the ball harder. Some of the post game comments need not be taken too literally I think. In almost all of his post games pressers he mentions passing and not holding onto the ball, swing the ball to the open guy. I really don't think Tibs telling Kat to go 1 on 3 in practice.

I think we agree, Duke. I was referring to KAT's decision to drive rather than take the open 2-point jump shot. That was the question posed to Thibs as I recall. So I think Thibs is coaching KAT to drive rather than settle for 2-point jumpers even if it means driving into traffic. Thibs wants his players, especially a big guy like KAT, to drive and draw fouls. But I agree with you completely that Thibs' first choice is to have players pass to the open guy rather than drive 1 on 3. He has frequently said essentially that, talking about ball-movement and looking for the open guy. KAT's improved in that area recently.

Of course, the question then is whether Thibs approved of Wiggins tunnel vision drives to the hoop late in the 4th quarter last night.

[Monster]

Lip, I disagree with you a little. I saw Tibs post game interview last night as well and had the same reaction to his comment about driving the ball harder. Some of the post game comments need not be taken too literally I think. In almost all of his post games pressers he mentions passing and not holding onto the ball, swing the ball to the open guy. I really don't think Tibs telling Kat to go 1 on 3 in practice.

Yeah I was thinking Thibs probably wants Towns to stay aggressive to some extent attacking. And let's be honest some of those drives Towns makes he puts up some weak shots. Also I haven't been listening to all his stuff the last couple months seems like Thibs doesn't seem interested in calling an individual player out in public so I took that in account when I read about his response to that question.