Towns

[Carlos Danger]

I'm sure everyone already knows this, but I'm just catching up on my reads for the week. I saw Towns had successful surgery this week:

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/397 ... -left-knee

Per the link:

"The Timberwolves characterized the surgery as a success and said Towns will be reevaluated in four weeks, at which point further updates will be provided.

Four weeks from Tuesday is April 9, which falls during the last week of the NBA regular season. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported last week that Towns is expected to be back by early in the Western Conference playoffs."

My own personal take is we shouldn't pin our playoff hopes on Towns coming back. I'm thinking he won't step back on the court again this year unless we advance to the finals. Again - just my own opinion. My thought process is thinking he wouldn't want to risk further injury/set backs by rushing back. I know half the posters here have had meniscus injuries and may have come back sooner. But this guy is 250 lbs and obviously professional basketball requires more rigor than any of us would experience on a daily basis.

So if I think that way, why would I think he'd bother to come back at all this year? Because the finals is where legends (and money) are made. I think he'd definitely want to be part of that series should we make it that far.

For this season the Wolves are 41-19 (.683) with Towns. And 4-2 (.667) without him. It's a very small (6 game) sample, but we're going to have another 16 games to add to that by year end. It will make for an interesting end of year comparison.

[FNG]

I get a kick out of reports that a surgery was "successful"...I'm still waiting for a report saying " 'some athlete' had surgery yesterday, and unfortunately the surgeon reported it didn't go very well and was unsuccessful" .

On to more important topics. Carlos, I think (hope?) KAT realizes that the championship window is quite narrow...he's a smart guy, and he has to have some concerns about how payroll might impact the Wolves' chances next year, or even if he is going to be here. So I think KAT is going to do everything he can to be ready for round one of the playoffs. And if you think about KAT's skillset, I think he will be more ready to contribute than the typical player coming back from injury. Why? Because since KAT is a flat-footed shooter rather than a jump shooter, I expect he will be on the court taking shots as soon as he is able to walk (and you guys who have had this surgery can weigh in on when you were ready to walk after the surgery). I'm not dismissing the fact that his conditioning will not be in mid-season form and I don't expect him to play 30MPG right away, but KAT is an elite shooter, and I expect his shooting will be in good shape by the time he is cleared to play.

And we have evidence of this theory. Last year after missing several months with an injury, KAT returned and made 44.8% of his 3's in March and 50% in April...no rust at all! It's clear KAT is able to stay sharp with respect to his shooting while he is recuperating.

[DNatagal]

Here is something else to consider, will KAT be more inclined to be a spot up shooter and stop with the out of control drives to the basket? And if he does, will that not help the Wolves perform better?

I sure hope so.

[60WinTim]

Here is something else to consider, will KAT be more inclined to be a spot up shooter and stop with the out of control drives to the basket? And if he does, will that not help the Wolves perform better?

I sure hope so.

That has been my thinking as well!!!

[Wolvesfan21]

I think more then anything KAT wants to change his career narratives as well. Hardly ever making the playoffs and never advancing.

His narrative around the league is known as an underachiever. Guys laughed when they heard him on Bevs podcast and guys rile on him for making other comments like the movie ending on some random night game against Charlotte where he came back from injury and hit a game winning shot.

If the team advances without him. That is actually kind of a bigger blow to his ego. They can win without him! I don't see really any scenario that he doesn't do whatever it takes to play by then.

He wants to be there to have the opportunity to change the narratives. I don't see any scenario of him holding out longer then absolutely needed.

[Carlos Danger]

Updated:

For this season the Wolves are 41-19 (.683) with Towns. And 5-2 (.714) without him.

[TheFuture]

One thing very odd to me: KAT was damn near a gimme on the low block/rebounding early, Love was damn near a gimme on the low block/rebounding early, Garza flashed the same.

They all cut weight, lowered their rebounding ability, propensity to score down low, and shifted to 3pt shooting.

I don't like it.

[Carlos Danger]

One thing very odd to me: KAT was damn near a gimme on the low block/rebounding early, Love was damn near a gimme on the low block/rebounding early, Garza flashed the same.

They all cut weight, lowered their rebounding ability, propensity to score down low, and shifted to 3pt shooting.

I don't like it.

Ha - I'm similar to you. It's obviously the new thing...have your tallest guys as far away from the rim as possible and firing 3 pointers. These fads come and go. But that is the current trend.

[Q-is-here]

One thing very odd to me: KAT was damn near a gimme on the low block/rebounding early, Love was damn near a gimme on the low block/rebounding early, Garza flashed the same.

They all cut weight, lowered their rebounding ability, propensity to score down low, and shifted to 3pt shooting.

I don't like it.

Ha - I'm similar to you. It's obviously the new thing...have your tallest guys as far away from the rim as possible and firing 3 pointers. These fads come and go. But that is the current trend.

I know we all love seeing old-school post play and bully ball in the paint, but the reason these guys don't do much of it is because it has been shown to be a pretty inefficient way to score in today's NBA.

That being said, there is still a place for it in half court offenses, just like there is a place for mid-range jumpers. I think the real question as it relates to KAT is should he shift some of his usage from drives to even more 3's and, yes, some more post ups? In theory, it seems like a more effective way to use him since he's constantly being guarded by smaller players that he can shoot over. But one thing that shouldn't happen is him taking less 3's, as that is by far his most efficient shot right now.

[Carlos Danger]

Updated records for this season with and without Towns:

41-19 (.683) With Towns
7-3 (.700) without Towns.

And I recall at least of a couple of those losses were without Rudy and/or Naz.

I'm not sayin'....just sayin'....if we are able to advance in the playoffs without him...should we consider moving him for salary dump plus a shit ton of draft capital before next year? I'm not making that call yet (I want to see how they do in the playoffs). But I am wondering out loud.

Edit: I remember batting it around with a couple of you whether or not we'd actually miss Towns' defense. For the year, the team has given up 106.5 points/game. In the ten games played without Towns (including 1 OT), they averaged 107.0. In other words, based on points per game, they'd be #1 team defense with or without Towns.