An underwhelming shooting night paved the way for a forgettable day in the office for Karl-Anthony Towns. Much to his dismay, the misery only compounded after the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 107-116 defeat to the Dallas Mavericks. Following the game, Kenny Smith and Draymond Green collaboratively called him out, devaluing his post-game comments.
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Soon after the game’s conclusion, KAT declared to be putting up to 1500 shots per day in training. This outrageous claim caught the eyes of Smith, prompting him to call out the Timberwolves star on TNT’s Inside the NBA. He candidly declared, “To make 300 [shots] in a day takes about 45 minutes. So, if you’re taking 1500, it’s gonna take you about 2 1/2 hours…So it’s cap”.
Interestingly, Green was the first in line to do precisely the same. Shortly after Towns’ post-game interview declaration, the Golden State Warriors star mentioned, “KAT capping,” without skipping a beat.
Following this, Charles Barkley joined his co-panelists to express a similar stance. Furthermore, the 61-year-old also justified his viewpoint, stating, “First of all, he is lying… Let’s just say hypothetically he was telling the truth. Is he shooting 1500 threes? That’s the problem. It’s the type of shots he is getting… Has nothing to do with him not working on his game.”
Draymond, Kenny, and Chuck are “calling cap” on KAT’s claim that he’s putting up 1,500 shots per day 😭 pic.twitter.com/X0Hnp5g580
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 27, 2024
This outlined how the TNT analysts received KAT’s comments with a pinch of salt. Amidst the apparent harshness of their statements, it remains quite tough to argue against them. Additionally, the recent form of the Timberwolves star failed to back his words, doing him a disservice in the process.
Why did Karl-Anthony Towns become a source of mockery?
A major reason behind the TNT crew’s mockery was KAT’s ongoing form in the playoffs. In the recent Game 3, the 28-year-old went 0-8 from the deep, recording a below-par shooting night of 5-18 from the field. This held the entire team back at the crucial junctures of the game, resulting in an eventual defeat.
Notably, this has been a recurring theme for Towns in the ongoing Western Conference Final series. In three games, he has only made three three-pointers after attempting 22 shots from the deep. This has given rise to a disappointing 13.6% scoring rate from beyond the arc.
His on-court struggles consequently have brought immense negative limelight. For instance, during Game 2, the Mavs rookie, Derek Lively II, went toe-to-toe against KAT, outshining the All-Star several times. This, in particular, caught the eyes of Kendrick Perkins, as he declared on the ‘Road Trippin’ podcast, “I didn’t expect a rookie to be outplaying Karl Anthony-Towns so bad that he was benched in the fourth quarter”.
So, the time has come for KAT to step up with the Timberwolves having their backs against the wall. With three defeats in the first three clashes, the team must win each of their remaining games to qualify for the NBA Finals. Amidst this uphill task, Towns’ practice must bear fruit in favor of his franchise, with the time running out fast.
