Karl-Anthony Towns had one of those nights where he just didn't have it in him to keep on playing. Stop me when this sounds familiar, but after air-balling a 3-pointer, Towns hoisted his finger up in the air and asked to be subbed out.
The local broadcasters knew it too, saying “time to get Gui (Gorgui Dieng) in the game” — a prayer that was soon answered.
“KAT just has that look in his face like he doesn't want to play tonight, so, so be it,” said color commentator Jim Petersen.
“KAT just has that look in his face like he doesn’t want to play tonight, so, so be it…” 😳 pic.twitter.com/Qr7UGLfZ4H
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) October 25, 2018
Karl Towns just airballed a 3 and motion to the bench saying, “get me out.”
One of Towns’ all-time worst performances.
If Thibs and Jimmy are rollin with this group, and committed to it, they’ve got to find a way to commit to KAT and get him going.
Bigger than tonight.
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) October 25, 2018
Towns denied asking to come out, according to Ian Harrison of The Associated Press, claiming he knew he would be subbed out — yet somehow there wasn't a substitute ready for him at the scores table until Dieng was called on.
Skeptical? Yeah, me too.
This is the man who just got paid a five-year, $190 million rookie extension — only that now more than ever, the microscope is finally on him at a national level after Jimmy Butler's reported disgust for his nonchalant, non-competitive attitude on the court.
The Timberwolves were only down four points at that stretch in the third quarter, not even being blown out by the Toronto Raptors — and while Towns had a putrid night, shooting 5-of-17 (29 percent) from the floor, he could have helped his team in other ways. Instead, Towns not only had the most shot attempts on his team, but also turned the ball over four times during his 37-minute stretch.
Butler, who promised to be a teammate until the front office can find a suitable trade for him, expressed hope to be able to pull Towns out of these types of funks following a 112-105 loss to the Raptors, falling to 2-3 on the season.
“I think we all do, which is a good thing and sometimes a bad thing. We want him to be as aggressive as possible. I don’t think any shot he shoots is a bad shot,” said Butler, according to Chris Hine of The Minneapolis Star Tribune.
“Because we’re trying to force it too much instead of taking what the game gives us. I think that’s the sign of good teammates though. We want KAT to be successful. We want him to be aggressive. He’s featured in a lot of things on this offense and we’ll continue to do that. One bad shooting night, the next game that he comes back, s**t, he could have 50.”
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