Timberwolves' mission down the stretch: Get Karl-Anthony Towns the ball

Feb. 24—The Timberwolves begin their 23-game sprint to the end of the regular season Thursday night when they take on Memphis at Target Center. It's now or never if the Wolves indeed hope to move out of the play-in tournament and into a top-six seed that ensures them a playoff berth.

Minnesota has to be excellent down the stretch for that type of leap to take place. And the Wolves are usually closest to excellent when the ball is in Karl-Anthony Towns' hands. It's time to ride the All-Star center to the finish line.

"I think we got to try to get the ball to KAT a little bit more. We got to feature him, I think, more throughout the game," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. "He's had such a great season and been so good at picking his moments to step up and just fitting in with everybody, and that's been important. We also have to make sure we don't underutilize a guy with that type of talent."

There have been moments this season when Towns has taken over games. Most recently, he did so in the fourth quarter and overtime against Charlotte to lift the Wolves to an important victory before the break. But those moments need to become more frequent for the Wolves to get to where they want to go.

Towns is tied with Anthony Edwards for the team lead in usage at 26.8 percent of possessions, with D'Angelo Russell close behind. That's nothing to sneeze at but does seem low when you consider most of the league's top players are above 30 percent. Philadelphia center Joel Embiid, for example, leads the NBA at 37 percent.

The challenge with Towns is to convince him that's what's necessary for Minnesota to succeed. The center is often hyper-focused on making "the right play" without perhaps recognizing that a good shot for him is a better decision than a great shot for a teammate with lesser scoring prowess. For example, Towns — the newly crowned NBA All-Star 3-Point Contest champion — is easily the Timberwolves' best 3-point shooter by percentage, at 41 percent, yet he attempts just 5.2 triples a game, while Russell, Edwards and Malik Beasley all average above eight attempts.

"I know everyone's on the hype of me winning the 3-point contest, and so they want me to shoot 15 threes a game ..." Towns said. "But just see what the game gives me. I think I was playing really, really well before All-Star break. I had a really good rhythm going with 3-point shots and going to the basket. Just continue to mix both flavors and keep playing and continue to mix both flavors. Just keep playing."

Finch noted the Wolves still want Towns to get others involved. That can't go away. But the ball needs to be in his hands more often to allow him to make those types of decisions.

"If it happens in the flow, great," Finch said. "If it doesn't, then it's on me to make sure we recognize it and address it."

Getting the ball to Towns has always been a pertinent strategy, particularly after All-Star breaks. For his career, Town's numbers only get gaudier after the break, where he's averaging 25.4 points and 12 rebounds a game.

"I just feel like for me I just never want to have regrets going into the offseason or going into the playoffs or whatever the case may be," Towns said. "You never know what life is going to guarantee you. I feel like after the All-Star break, I was just so locked in. Just making sure I have no regrets. If I'm going into the playoffs or offseason, I feel good about what I was able to accomplish. Obviously, just trying to get to always get better and be the best player I can be for my teammates and give us the best chance."

Towns said he may even turn his focus level up another notch down the stretch run of the season. He said he had the first 59 games to "warm up" and now is in tune with his game. He wants to head into the postseason with "a really good rhythm." He should see enough touches over the final 23 games for that to be the case, no matter where those touches are on the floor.

"Give me the ball, I'll score. Pretty sure about that," Towns said. "No matter where it's at — 3-point land, halfcourt, inside the paint, free throw, it don't matter. I always feel (if) 32 touches the ball, I'm gonna score it most of the time. Like, probably a 60 to 70 percent clip."

The Wolves will gladly take those odds.