The Minnesota Timberwolves have surprised many fans this season. They are by far the longest team in the West No. 1. After Gobert joined, the Timberwolves started to look different. Previously, due to Towns' lack of rim protection ability, the Timberwolves' interior line has always been a weak point. Ange of the Jazz team, thinking of a way to make the Timberwolves suffer a big loss, and finally got Gobert by changing the weight that could have been exchanged for Durant. But thankfully, the multi-time DPOY freed Downs' offensive appetite and allowed him to have the best season of his career.
The current Timberwolves have Conley + Edwards on the outside, Towns + Gobert on the inside, and McDaniels + Lee Kyle on the front, and the overall defensive efficiency ranks first in the league. Today, let's focus on Towns' performance, and in my case, he's an underrated All-Star interior player.
Take the 2024 All-Star Game as an example, although Lillard won the final All-Star Game MVP, the brightest player on the court is not him, but Towns in the West. Although he came off the bench, his efficiency was outstanding. played 28 minutes, hit 23 of 35 shots, and scored 50 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. It's a pity that the difference in the first two quarters was too large, which disappointed Downs' AMVP dream.
Downs has been a regular on the air steam this season, scoring 44 points in the half against the Hornets. At that time, many fans were thinking that maybe there was hope to break Kobe's record of 81 points in a single game. But the 44 points in the half also broke the record of 42 points in the half set by Kobe Bryant in 97. In the game against the Hornets, Downs finally scored 62 points, and was taken care of in the second half, and the efficiency came down, and the most exaggerated thing is that the ball was not won.
So far this season, Downs has averaged 22 per game5 points 84 rebounds and 2A palmares with 9 assists. He was also very efficient, shooting 517%, 43 three-pointers7%, if it weren't for Edwards to share the ball, Downs might be able to compete for the final MVP with the first place in the West.
Although Downs is nominally a center, he plays more like a power forward. He doesn't like physical confrontation, shooting is his first choice, and the efficiency of the three-second zone is not too high. However, the Timberwolves team really needs players like Towns to open up space, and if there are two players who can't shoot inside, the space will be compressed.
The Timberwolves have played a lot of tough games this season, including a 20-point win over the Clippers, a 20-point win over the Nuggets, a win over the Celtics, and a three-quarter win over the Bucks. Hard bones, not a single invincible. But in the nominal weak team, they lost a lot, in addition to losing to the Hornets before, the Spurs, Bulls, etc. also lost. To a large extent, the Timberwolves are okay defensively, but their offense is poor. The Timberwolves are currently averaging 114 points per game, ranking 18th in the league, and have an offensive efficiency of 1152, ranked 17th in the league.
Towns was previously put on the shelf by the Timberwolves, but was unable to meet the asking price due to the high asking price. Towns is the Timberwolves' second-leading scorer, an all-around interior player who occasionally convulses and scores high scores. But Downs is still at risk of being traded.
A Western Conference executive said that Towns and Edwards' big contract extensions will begin next season, and the Timberwolves are under hefty luxury tax pressure. If they can't effectively reduce their salaries, there is a chance that Downs will be traded. Hundreds of spectators