Zach Lowe is one of the most respected NBA writers on the planet, so when he digs a six-foot grave and buries someone in it, people notice – and Lowe buried Karl-Anthony Towns in his latest column.
The column focuses on 10 things Lowe likes and doesn’t like. He doesn’t like Towns’ defense, calling him a “chronic block-chaser” who jumps way too late.
“If you start your jump when the shooter is about to release the ball, you might as well stay ground-bound and box someone the hell out — something else Towns doesn’t really like to do.”
Lowe proceeded to say Towns is a defensive “con artist,” which he defines as the kind of players who “pretend like they are playing defense when they are really getting out of the way.”
His written assault of the 21-year-old didn’t stop there.
“He lurches in robotic, two-footed shifts. He positions his body at weird angles that reveal driving lanes. He also flat doesn’t play as hard as he does on offense.”
Towns is seventh in the NBA at 2 blocks a game, but he’s ranked 357th (out of 407) in defensive rating, according to NBA.com.
He also ranks dead last among starting centers in points allowed per game in transition and in the paint, per NBA.com. In the paint, it’s an ugly 37 points per game. In transition, it’s 12.8 points per game.
Ripping a player a new one based on eight games seems unfair until you see that Towns gave up 35.7 points per game in the paint (second worst in the NBA) and 11 points per game on the fastbreak (worst in the NBA among everyday starters) last season.
Based on the stats, Towns is literally the worst starting center in the NBA.
