Karl-Anthony Towns: Offense Marvel

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The Unprofessionals

10 min readSep 29, 2017

He’s as tall as the tallest Center’s and yet has shooting and dribbling skills of a wing. He has wing skills and yet still a monster scorer in the post, a lost skill for many young players.

Karl-Anthony Towns has some serious issues defensively to fix (outlined here), but offensively, he’s one of the most talented seven-footers to step foot on an NBA floor. And he thinks he’ll become the best player in the NBA someday (here).

After a rookie year where Towns’ finished 13th in Player Efficiency Rating, he didn’t sophomore slump. He improved to 11th overall in efficiency (22.5 to 25.9), scored seven more points per game, grabbed two more rebounds per, 10 more double-doubles, and shot and made more 3’s at a better percentage.

During the 2016–17 NBA season Towns really seemed to hit his stride offensively around the time Zach LaVine went down for the season with a torn ACL. Before the All-Star break Towns averaged 23.7 PPG on 51.6% FG, 33.9% 3pt, and 11.8 rebounds per. After the break, 28.4 PPG, 59.7% FG, 43.4% 3pt, and 13.4 rebounds per. He even recorded 20 double-doubles in 25 games.

Below is Towns’ shot chart of the 2016–17 NBA season. He’s almost 8% better at the rim then league average, and even in the dreaded 8 to 12 foot range, he’s better than the league average. Although his mid-range attempts around the elbows and free throw line dropped last year from his rookie year drastically (73 to 260 shots), he’s well above league average there too.

Post break shooting percentages got even better for Towns. Finishing at the rim 5% higher than for the season and making more 8 to 12 footers more often. He made almost half his three’s above the break after the break as well.

Here’s a few videos of how Towns gets it done with his shot. In this clip against Detroit, Towns works off the dribble to the eight to twelve foot range finishing with a soft baby hook.

Facing Indiana, Towns catches at the high post, makes a pivot and goes to work. One dribble and he’s to the right block where again he utilizes the jump hook for the score.

In this clip, Towns goes to the “Dirk One Leg” fadeaway jumper, a move Towns has been rumored to be adding to his game more for this upcoming season.

Vs New York the Wolves use a little misdirection with a Wiggins screen of Porzingis. The brush gives Towns a bit of space to have a good look at the rim. As a 40–45% shooter in this range, this is a pretty good look for Towns.

These last two clips in this series display fear of Towns’ ability on offense. DeAndre guards the roll significantly, so Towns just pops to the open elbow area. Vs Houston Nene is so far off Towns he’s able to utilize his better than most handle to rock Nene with a fadeaway baseline jumper.

Versatile: having or capable of many uses. Versatile is the perfect word to describe Karl-Anthony Towns’ offensive weaponry. He’s like one of the three characters from GTA 5, when you hold L1 you can wheel through what weapons you have and decide what you want to unleash.

Post-Ups

A playtype that Towns is particularly terrific are post-ups. He’s in the 86.3 percentile on post-ups scoring 1.03 points per possession (PPP) on 5.8 possessions per game. For comparisons sake, Joel Embiid had 6.8 post possession per game and his PPP was 0.88, 51.6 percentile. LaMarcus Aldridge had 5.8 possessions like Towns, his PPP was 0.87, 45.3 percentile.

Towns and Embiid led the NBA is points in the post-ups per game at six a night, but Towns was much more efficient, and shot a lot better. Towns field goal percentage in the post, 54.7%, Embiid, 46.8%. Out of players in the top 11, only Enes Kanter had a higher shooting percentage on post-ups, 57.6%.

Now watch as Towns goes to work vs numerous defenders during the 2016–17 NBA season.

Putbacks

Karl-Anthony Towns might be a machine on putbacks because of his ability to gather offensive rebounds. Averaging 3.6 offensive boards a game last season, Towns had PPP of 1.33 on putbacks which placed him in the 88 percentile of the league.

Out of all NBA players, Towns is fourth in points per on putbacks averaging 3.3 PPG and out of the players in the Top 10, he’s third in FG% (66.9%) behind only Tyson Chandler and Dwight Howard. His score frequency is only behind Chandler out of Top 10 players.

For comparison, Anthony Davis is in the 90th percentile for putbacks but has half the frequency as Towns. Towns grabbed 1.3 more offensive rebounds than Davis during the 2016–17 season.

During the 2016–17 NBA season Timberwolves announcers Dave Benz and Jim Peterson remarked how often Towns would get tip dunks. After reviewing all of Towns’ dunks for the 2016–17 season, I found many of those tip dunks. In this one minute and forty-one second video you witness Towns crashing the offensive glass ferociously cleaning up his teammates misses.

CUTS

Towns and Andrew Wiggins both average 1.42 PPP on cuts in the 82 to 83 percentile of the NBA. Both shoot 75% from the field on cuts making them better than counterparts Gordon Hayward (68%) and Anthony Davis (71.1%).

The Wolves need to find ways for Towns to be cutting more often like say DeAndre Jordan. Towns was 70/92 from the field on cuts, Jordan, 115/149. Even Nikola Jokic was used more often, taking 143 shots on cuts. And when looking at other players with similar shooting percentages on cuts (Clint Capela (185), Giannis Antetokounmpo (134), Dwight Howard (149)), Towns took significantly less shots in this playtype.

The three video examples here are the different ways Towns has been involved cutting. The Wolves for the upcoming season would benefit a lot from getting Towns into these situations more often.

Three’s

Coming out of Kentucky John Calipari forced Towns on the block, so we only saw Towns shoot eight total three’s during his time there. There were rumors Towns had the ability to step out and shoot but not until his workout video did we know. The workout video surfaced before the 2015 NBA Draft, (here) and it was confirmed.

These three video’s display a few different ways Towns steps out and knocks down the three-point shot. Little things like in the first video where he pivots on his right foot. The second video when Memphis uses three defenders to defend the pick and roll Towns just fills in behind to the open space (30 second video with many more examples of Towns hitting three’s).

The third video of Towns catching and moving to the perimeter. Such a unique skill for a seven-footer to take a stepback three over another seven-footer.

Off Screen

Off screens Towns isn’t all that impressive from the standpoint of the entire NBA, 67.5 percentile, 1 PPP, and averaging 1.3 PPG. But, again, having this playtype in his arsenal is a plus. Towns scored 108 points off screens, more than Zach LaVine (66), Rodney Hood (61), Kristaps Porzingis (103), Jimmy Butler (84), and Carmelo Anthony (95). The improvement for Towns will be to become more efficient. He was 40 of 96 from the field coming off screens.

In the five plays below each one has a little wrinkle for Towns, even though the down screen being set by the other big is the happening more often than not.

Guard/Wing Skills

Towns is so well-versed offensively that at times you can forget he’s a seven-foot center. These three videos highlight a few ways of how Towns has a guard/wing skill set.

Towns attributes much of this ability to his Dad, pointed out here by Marc J. Spears on the Undefeated.

Much of Towns’ potential to be the king of the NBA comes from having all-around skills at 7 feet tall. Towns credits his father, Karl Towns, who pushed him at a young age to learn all the skills needed for basketball and not just how to be a tall guy in the post.

The first video is Towns playing Oklahoma City and being guarded by Steven Adams. Towns pump fakes, dribble drives, dribbles through his right leg to his left, and steps back. Basically, Towns makes a dribble step back J.

The second video Towns is dribbling towards Rubio for a dribble hand-off. A typical post player would be definitely handing the ball off to the point guard but Towns used a hesitating dribble ball fake to freeze the Raptors defenders.

Third video is Towns putting the shakes on the hapless Mavs defender. Before the 2015 draft, Sport Science calculated Towns’ dribble screen at 2.67 dribbles per second, a raw dribble rate faster than James Harden.

Transition

Transition is an area with Karl-Anthony Towns absolutely destroys NBA teams. Towns is in the 86.9 percentile and scores 1.31 PPP in transition situations. Towns shoots 70% from the field while scoring 64.3% of the time, slightly better than Kevin Durant.

Towns is slightly better than Giannis Antetokounmpo in transition in PPP, 1.31 to 1.28, and has a three percent higher field goal percentage, but Giannis scored 492 points to Towns’ 169. Towns had 100 shots in transition, Giannis, 235.

Out of all of Towns’ playtypes, he only scored in transition 6.9% of the time. Myles Turner, who shoots a lower percentage, but has a higher PPP to Towns, was in transition more often. But, out of big’s with a PPP above 1.26, Towns was the only player to break 100 attempts. In fact, the only player close was Myles Turner who had 85 attempts.

These two videos of Towns in transition showcase his ability to leak out off missed shots. In the NBA, this is why guys aren’t suppose to follow their own shot. After you release that shot, you’re responsibility to stop anything in transition.

The Wolves during 2016–17 looked for transition early and often with Rubio running the show with wings like Wiggins and LaVine (Wiggins 159 shots, LaVine 133). Here VS Houston this is just Towns getting out and running like a gazelle, and filling into the empty space.

Against Sacramento this is just pure oh my goodness ability. Towns gathers the defensive rebound and immediately takes off dribbling going the length of the floor.

VS Washington again Rubio pushes, Zach runs ahead and Towns comes running through the middle of the floor. The best part of this play isn’t even Towns running, it’s his amazing finish between two defenders.

And then there’s always the lucky bounce, or in this instance, lucky off Russell’s foot.

Pick and Roll Roll Man

Towns’ frequency for Pick and roll roll man was 19.4% and he was in the 88.1 Percentile in this playtype when scoring. The Timberwolves had him in 5.4 possessions every game as the roll man and he shot 57.5% from the field (161/280).

Towns’ 280 attempts as the roll man were by far the most for players above 1.15 PPP (Towns 1.23). Other big’s, Tyson Chandler (39), Rudy Gobert (152), Jonas Valanciunas (150), Nene Hilario (138), Hassan Whiteside (158), and even Lob City leader DeAndre Jordan (136) were hundreds of attempts short.

The first video here is a showcase of what the future pick and roll could look like for Minnesota. Andrew Wiggins as the handler throwing a soft lob for Towns to finish. Finish might be an understatement on what Towns did to the Sixers on this slam.

VS the Clippers Towns comes way out to help Tyus Jones get away from the pressing Raymond Felton. As the Clipper big defends the lane to prevent the Jones drive, Towns has his options, pick and pop around the perimeter, or roll through the hole. He rolls through, and in one motion catches, hop-steps around Speights, and lays the ball in.

Towns ability to gauge the defense here with Rubio is magnificent. When Patty Mills overplays the screen from Towns, Rubio dribbles baseline. Towns witnesses Aldridges bad switch to stop Rubio and just slips pass Mills (Rubio pass probably a bit underrated here). Towns makes a planted move, no dribble, scoop lay-up passed the rim defending Pau Gasol.

This time working pick and roll with Zach LaVine, Towns has to catch an off center pass. He collects the ball, and again, no dribble, simply lays the ball home for the easy basket.

Here is a series of clips of Towns in various situations as the roll man for roughly 41 seconds.

Karl-Anthony Towns has all these offensive skills, so you probably ask, what’s next? Well, in his third season in the NBA Karl-Anthony Towns will play the first time with some “quality” veterans.

First the Timberwolves this off-season traded potential for an established impact player. Zach LaVine was moved to Chicago for Jimmy Butler in attempt to speed up the curve in the rebuild. Tom Thibodeau, not a fan of losing, then signed power forward Taj Gibson to pair with Towns in an attempt hopefully to shore up the interior defense.

These changes could have immediate impact on the young Wolves in the affect of them winning more games. Time will only tell if these additions are the right formula for Towns and Wiggins to grow.