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Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch was on the show “Run It Back” with The Athletic and Stadium's Shams Charania and talked about star Karl-Anthony Towns and what he means to the team. The Timberwolves are off to a hot-start to the NBA season as they are No. 1 in the Western Conference with a 20-6 record.
Finch sent high praises the way of Towns as he mentioned he has had to change while also embracing his strengths. In the biggest compliment of them all, he calls the 28-year old player the “glue” to the success that the Timberwolves are having.
“In many ways, he's kind of been the glue to all of this because it's his willingness to kind of sacrifice just enough, whether it be spacing or touches or taking on defensive assignments that traditionally hasn't been guarding guys in actions or rotations,” Finch said. “You know, he's mostly been guarding and pick and roll in his whole life and just kind of embracing all these things. And kind of learning through it and then staying patient and aggressive when he has his opportunities.”
"[Karl-Anthony Towns] in many ways, he's kind of been the glue to all of this."
Chris Finch shares some thoughts on KAT's game this year.
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— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) December 21, 2023
Finch says Towns has a good balance of aggressiveness and patience
Finch went on to say that Towns has been getting a good balance of using his skill-set to help the team, but also sacrificing touches to superstar Anthony Edwards and newcomer Rudy Gobert. He also mentioned the around 50-game absence Towns had which could have prevented him from gaining that chemistry last season.
The head coach mentions last season, it was a process of him actually giving away too many touches as Finch wanted to see him be “more aggressive.” This season, Towns is averaging 22.2 points, 9.6 rebounds, and three assists per game.
“KAT [Towns] is an extremely efficient player so, you know, he can still do a lot of damage was less shots. Last year I thought he differed too much at times, trying to make the thing work with Rudy [Gobert],” Finch said. “He lost his chemistry with Ant [Edwards] when he was out for those 50 games. We figured that would come back naturally. We told him just don't worry so much about Rudy. You know, go be more aggressive for yourself, and the Rudy plays will happen in the flow because you trust your skill and your talent.”
Finch points out the star's exceptional numbers
Since 2021, Finch has been the head coach of the Timberwolves and has gotten to see the development of Towns from a highly-talented raw prospect to a polished exciting big-man. He stressed that his stat-line is that he's shooting 52 percent from the field, 42.5 percent from three-point range, and 89.9 percent from the free throw line, all which would be among his career-highs.
“He's playing a pretty much like a 50, 40, 90 clip right now, which is incredible,” Finch said. “And it just comes down to his patience and his poise and his like willingness to kind of let the game happen for him and then take the moments that as they come rather than always trying to force himself into the game.”
Towns and the Timberwolves look to keep the fantastic start going as they had a three-game winning streak broken after a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers led by Joel Embiid who scored 51 points and collected 12 rebounds. Minnesota looks to bounce back Thursday night as they face the Los Angeles Lakers who won't have superstar LeBron James in the lineup.
