The numbers behind Towns' defensive troubles
The Minnesota Timberwolves have themselves a superstar in Karl-Anthony Towns. Things come so easily for the center on the offensive end. Unfortunately, he's been a defensive disaster throughout his short career.
Friday night was much of the same for Towns. Great at one end, awful at the other.
Towns' defensive assignment on the night was Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams. Through 17 games, Adams is averaging a respectable 12 points and 8.1 rebounds. On this night, Adams went 11-for-11 from the field and hit all five of his free throws for a career-high 27 points.
Related: Adams' perfect night puts him in rare company
This is the third time the Thunder have played the Timberwolves this season, and Adams has run amok against a plodding Towns in all three games.
| Date | PTS | FG | FT | REB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 22 | 17 | 8-12 | 1-1 | 13 |
| Oct. 27 | 20 | 8-10 | 4-4 | 8 |
| Dec. 1 | 27 | 11-11 | 5-5 | 6 |
It's become a trend for Towns. He struggles as a rim protector and rarely attempts to contest shots. The T-Wolves are better on defense without Towns flailing around the basket and shying away from contact, and nothing seems to have changed from his prior two seasons.
| Season | DEFRTG ON | DEFRTG OFF | DIFF |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 108.1 | 105.0 | 3.0 |
| 2016-17 | 110.8 | 103.6 | 7.2 |
| 2017-18 | 109.2 | 104.7 | 4.5 |
Out of 73 NBA players listed as centers on ESPN's Defensive Real Plus-Minus measurement, Towns is rated dead last with a -1.2 rating. He ranks third from the bottom in defensive win shares among players who see more than 25 minutes per game.
Towns is last in the league in opponent points in the paint, allowing teams to score 33.8 per game. His inability to protect the rim has hurt the Timberwolves on the defensive end as the team still tries to find an identity offensively.
When Minnesota hired head coach Tom Thibodeau in 2016, fans expected him to mold Towns and Andrew Wiggins into top-flight defensive stalwarts under the intense scope of one of the brightest minds in the NBA.
However, Thibodeau has struggled to change the culture in Minnesota, after creating a dominating defensive culture for five seasons with the Chicago Bulls.
| Year (Team) | DEFRTG | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2010-11 (Bulls) | 97.4 | 1st |
| 2011-12 (Bulls) | 95.3 | 1st |
| 2012-13 (Bulls) | 100.3 | 5th |
| 2013-14 (Bulls) | 97.8 | 2nd |
| 2014-15 (Bulls) | 101.5 | 11th |
| 2016-17 (T-Wolves) | 109.1 | 26th |
| 2017-18 (T-Wolves) | 107.9 | 23rd |
It's fair to set expectations low for a 21-year-old center who has already proven to be one of the best offensive talents in the game. There's plenty of time to fix his defensive issues so it would be unwise to write Towns off in that regard, but there's certainly reason for concern.