Nearly four hours after the Wolves lost to the Utah Jazz on Monday night, dropping their record to 5-12 – the third-worst record in the Western Conference – Karl-Anthony Towns was still working out.
All these losses fall on my shoulders. None of the coaching staff. None of my teammates. This is my fault.
Towns posted a black and white photo of a basketball hoop to Snapchat at 10:47 p.m. and then again at 1:17 a.m. He captioned the second photo: “No excuses.”
The Wolves have not come close to meeting expectations this season, prompting head coach Tom Thibodeau to call their defensive effort against Utah “unacceptable.”
Towns, though, is again putting the loss squarely on his shoulders.
“All these losses fall on my shoulders,” Towns said, via the team’s website. “None of the coaching staff. None of my teammates. This is my fault. I don’t think it’s anyone’s fault but myself. It’s something I’ve got to fix. I’ve got to change for the better for us. I guess it’s back to the drawing board tomorrow.”
NBA columnist Zach Lowe thinks Towns is realizing something all 21 year olds in the NBA do: “The NBA is hard.”
Another great game from George Hill. Crafty, strong finishes inside. KAT half-step slow on a bunch of rotations. He's 21. The NBA is hard.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) November 29, 2016
Thibs doesn't doubt Towns' commitment or his work ethic. Wants to see KAT and all Wolves execute the game plans. Says it's not on 1 person
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) November 29, 2016
The road doesn’t get any easier for Towns and the Wolves when they play a home-and-home with the Knicks Wednesday and Friday, and then head to Charlotte on Saturday.
