Hes_On_Fire wrote:Capn'O wrote:Hes_On_Fire wrote:KAT is playing great but his regular season stats aren't far off from his career numbers and similar great seasons he's put up before other than 3 point % and rebounding.
The reason people like me doubt Towns is his playoff performances (most recently his abysmal WCF showing against the Mavs) and his general health. Towns also doesn't protect the rim and generally likes to avoid contact and play on the perimeter instead of using his skillset to do both effectively. Although this year I've seen him play more aggressively inside so we'll see.
The general point is - Towns is playing amazing. He's done it before. We recognize his regular season excellence. People weren't fans of the trade because - much like Randle - he was not a postseason performer. The jury is still out on that regard. If we want to be contenders we need Towns to produce way better than his career 18 ppg, 10 rpg, 46% FG, 33% 3FG in 32 games. Once he does that then I will gladly have Karl-Anthony take a piss directly on my face.
I don't think that's really fair at least in terms of these past playoffs. He had good series against Phoenix and defending champ Denver. He struggled against Dallas. Randle has yet to record a single positive playoff series. With Towns you can really chalk that up to matchup difficulties rather than getting psyched out by the playoffs. The Mavs forced him to play the perimeter and switch a bunch and that plays into his weaknesses. But his defense and %s were very good against the other two teams, Wolves were just playing through Ant because Ant was dominating everyone.
With Towns, it's more a matter that there are certain matchups and offensive/defensive styles that can exploit him. Which we've seen this year as well. He outplayed both Embiid and Jokic but got picked apart by Utah and Dallas (again). Sure, it's a weird thing to say that he has a harder time with PJ Washington than he does with Jokic but... he has a harder time with PJ Washington than he does against Jokic.
I understand but the bottom line is if he’s a great player as we know he is then he’ll adjust and play better. If we want to win a title we can’t have Towns get shut down by the likes of PJ Washington in the playoffs. He’ll have to step up and play better in those situations. He’s getting paid $60 million. He has to figure that out.
For sure. But it's more a general weakness against big wing type 4s than it is a playoffs issue.
We're seeing it right now v the Pels.
