If you stayed up late Tuesday night you might’ve watched the Timberwolves lose to the Nuggets 133-107 in Denver.
The game was broadcast nationally on TNT with a “player’s only” announcer crew, which featured NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas repeatedly questioning whether Karl-Anthony Towns is good enough to warrant his max contract.
Reminder: @fsnorth is infinitely better than national broadcasts.
Isiah Thomas spewing straight nonsense, claiming you can’t be a top player in the league if you miss the playoffs.
— Shahbaz Khan (@ShahbazMKhan) March 13, 2019
https://twitter.com/Kyle_Ratke/status/1105673678732361728
Despite Thomas’ opinion, which is laughable, Towns finished with 34 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks to continue his dominant second-half push.
hello, @IsiahThomas.
You were saying? pic.twitter.com/Ngfa9U28ha
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) March 13, 2019
Towns is averaging 24.6 points, 12.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game this season and he continues to show up night after night despite playing for a lottery-bound team loaded with injuries and disappointments.
Since the All-Star break, Towns is averaging 35 points and 13.6 rebounds, all while bouncing back from a car accident and a knee injury.
Post NBA All-Star Game PER:
1. Karl-Anthony Towns: 37.8
2. Anthony Davis: 32.2
3. Giannis Antetokounmpo: 29.9
4. Kawhi Leonard: 28.2
5. Nikola Vucevic: 28.1https://t.co/msOKgfCLe1— RealGM (@RealGM) March 12, 2019
The only part of Thomas’ whine that was accurate is that Towns isn’t leading the Wolves to the playoffs, which is all but certain now because they are six games out of the playoff picture with just 14 games remaining.
Even so, Towns has been among the best players in the NBA this season and he’s really turned it on the last two months. Entering play Tuesday, Towns leads the NBA in player efficiency rating by a large margin, according to RealGM.
Post NBA All-Star Game PER:
1. Karl-Anthony Towns: 37.8
2. Anthony Davis: 32.2
3. Giannis Antetokounmpo: 29.9
4. Kawhi Leonard: 28.2
5. Nikola Vucevic: 28.1https://t.co/msOKgfCLe1— RealGM (@RealGM) March 12, 2019
For the season, Towns is fourth in PER at 27.11. Only Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo and James Harden are ranked ahead of the Wolves’ 7-footer.
In case you’re wondering, Towns’ PER is 232 spots ahead of Andrew Wiggins, who ranks 236th in the league at 12.00.
While Wiggins sat out another game because of a sore quad, Towns put on another show. He hammered down back-to-back vicious dunks on Mason Plumlee and later in the game crossed over All-Star Nikola Jokic to the point that Jokic stumbled from just inside the 3-point line and nearly fell backwards out of bounds on the baseline.
THE BEST 7-FOOTER ON THE PLANET pic.twitter.com/R20BSE663t
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) March 13, 2019
KAT sent him packin' 😳#AllEyesNorth | #PlayersOnly pic.twitter.com/CLx0J25GEF
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) March 13, 2019
Fourteen more games of KAT dominance and then the offseason for the Wolves, who will likely be picking in the back half of the lottery for the umpteenth time in franchise history.
