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It has only been a small sample, but Karl-Anthony Towns is making sure no one is sleeping on the Minnesota Timberwolves this season.
Minnesota has played well through the early stages of this season. The Timberwolves are carrying a 3-0 record, which is tied for the second-best start in franchise history, and Towns is playing with a purpose on both ends of the floor. In fact, the former No. 1 overall pick is currently ranked third in points and sixth in rebounds.
Towns had a solid outing in Sunday night's 116-109 victory over the Miami Heat, scoring 23 points on 8-of-21 shooting from the field (4-of-11 from beyond the arc), 11 rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block.
Towns actually posted a pair of 30-point, 10-rebound performances in his first two games of this season, joining Kevin Garnett (1999-2000) as the only players in Timberwolves history to achieve the feat. In last week's win over the Charlotte Hornets, the former Kentucky Wildcat became the only player in NBA history to record 37 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists, four steals and two blocks with four 3-pointers made in a single game.
Towns explained his mindset:
Article Continues Below“I was just being aggressive,” Towns said after Friday's victory over the Hornets. “I'm just trying to help us get some victories.”
Earlier this month, Towns sent out a warning to anyone who might be sleeping on the Timberwolves:
“Everyone always sleeps on people in Minnesota because they don’t hear our name a lot,” Towns, who was named a 2019 NBA Western Conference All-Star, told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. “That’s fine. That’s cool. We are going to come from the underground and just find ourselves in the playoffs if we continue to do what we’re doing. …
“It’s fine. Keep sleeping on us.”
Minnesota finished with a disappointing 36-46 overall record last season, which left the team out of playoff contention (11th in the Western Conference). It seems Towns is looking to change that narrative this time around.
Through his three appearances with the Timberwolves this season, Towns has racked up averages of 32.0 points on 52.5 percent shooting from the field (51.7 percent from beyond the arc), 13.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 3.0 steals and 2.0 blocks in 33.7 minutes per outing. He's launching nearly 10 3-pointers a game, which is more than double last season's career-mark of 4.6 attempted triples per game.
The Timberwolves have struggled with consistency in seasons past. Their playoff appearance in the 2017-18 campaign was their first in 14 years, and they failed to qualify last season. If Towns can maintain this level of play, they could find themselves back in the hunt, especially if he continues getting help from Andrew Wiggins.
