Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Ryan Saunders has been encouraged by Karl-Anthony Towns swift improvement in pick-and-roll scenarios, making him an even deadlier big man to defend out in the perimeter.
“I think last game he was very good in the pick-and-roll,” said Saunders of Towns' recent game against the Memphis Grizzlies. “He knew that Memphis was trapping him; they were zoning; they were trying to keep bodies on him. He was good sprinting into screens. The more he sprints into screens the better.”
Ryan Saunders on Karl-Anthony Towns: “I think last game he was very good in the pick-and-roll. He knew that Memphis was trapping him; they were zoning; they were trying to keep bodies on him. He was good sprinting into screens. The more he sprints into screens the better." pic.twitter.com/0iOqoW4oE1
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) March 26, 2019
In the play above, Towns was aided by Tyus Jones' speedy attack, drawing two defenders to contain him while leaving the big man wide-open for a top-of-the-line 3-pointer with no one around to fully contest the 7-foot center.
Towns is no joke from deep, as the Kentucky product is hitting above a 40 percent clip for the second straight season, being a whisker shy of a 40 percent career shooter through his four-year career in the league.
There is hardly anyone in the league just as lethal from distance as they are from the low-block and Towns sweetly mixes brutal strength at the offensive end with a feathery-smooth jumper from all spots outside the arc.
The Timberwolves big man is posting career-highs in rebounding (12.5), assists (3.3), and steals per game (0.9) — all while remaining a force at both ends of the court and still growing into the superstar the franchise expects him to blossom into after doling out a hefty extension this past summer.
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