BBNBA: Karl-Anthony Towns, 'Wolves win again as uncertainty reigns
The NBA is trying its absolute best not to trip up as the association limps its way through the regular season. Covid-19 numbers are the worst they’ve ever been in some areas which have caused cancelations and postponements across the league. Nonetheless, there were still a few basketball games that were able to be played last night. Lets’ dive in.
Timberwolves get back to .500 behind 24 from Karl-Anthony Towns
Are… are the Minnesota Timberwolves good?
Some are at least asking after the ‘Wolves knocked off the Mavericks 111-105 to get to 15-15 on the year. Karl-Anthony Towns lead all ‘Wolves players with 24 points on 6-15 shooting. He also added seven rebounds and six assists in the win.
We can focus on how the Timberwolves are finally playing respectable basketball and the franchise is starting to figure something out. Or, we can focus on how Karl-Anthony Towns is having arguably the best season of his career and use that as the catalyst for why Minnesota might actually be good.
Towns is now averaging over 24 points per game on 50% percent shooting from the field. He’s attempting almost six three-pointers a game and hitting at a 41.8% clip. It’s absolutely absurd how good KAT has been shooting from the field this season.
Don’t forget about Jarred Vanderbilt either, who did his usual thing last night by adding a necessary defensive presence. In 38 minutes last night, Vanderbilt had six points on 3-4 shooting. He also added 10 rebounds, a block and a steal in what was otherwise a normal performance from him.
Covid-19 cancels anything it can
Times are starting to get worrisome again, and I’m not sure Disney is going to give us a bubble to fix it again. The abundance and rapid spread of Covid-19 is once again forcing teams to play short-handed or even cancel games. On Sunday the Pelicans-76ers game, Cavaliers-Hawks game and the Nuggets-Nets game were all postponed due to the number of positive cases within each franchise.
The NBA is nearing the point where they’re just going to have to bring in random replacement players every night if they refuse to postpone the season as a whole.
The next few days and weeks as we roll through the holiday season are going to be quite interesting for the NBA. It’s not looking great for some of the major sports in our country, and we may or may not be heading towards a complete cancelation once again.
Statistics
| Player | Result | Points | FG (3PA) | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | TOs | Mins | +/- |
| Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) | 111-105 W vs. DAL | 24 | 6-15 (1-3) | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 34 | 6 |
| Devin Booker (PHX) | 137-106 W vs CHA | 16 | 6-15 (4-8) | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 32 |
| Keldon Johnson (SAS) | 121-114 L @ SAC | 16 | 5-14 (2-5) | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 32 | -9 |
| Hamidou Diallo (DET) | 100-90 W vs MIA | 15 | 7-10 (0-1) | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 30 | 16 |
| P.J. Washington (CHA) | 137-106 L @ PHX | 13 | 4-13 (2-9) | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 23 | -14 |
| Trey Lyles (DET) | 100-90 W vs MIA | 8 | 3-8 (0-4) | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 18 | -4 |
| Jarred Vanderbilt (MIN) | 111-105 W vs DAL | 6 | 3-4 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 38 | 6 |
| Rajon Rondo (LAL) | 115-110 L @ CHI | 5 | 2-2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 24 | -7 |
| Nick Richards (CHA) | 137-106 L @ PHX | 4 | 2-2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 5 |
| Wille Cauley-Stein (DAL) | 111-105 L @ MIN | DNP – Personal | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Anthony Davis (LAL) | 115-110 L @ CHI | DNP – Knee | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Malik Monk (LAL) | 115-110 L @ CHI | DNP – Covid-19 Protocol | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Tyler Herro (MIA) | 100-90 L @ DET | DNP – Quad | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Bam Adebayo (MIA) | 100-90 L @ DET | DNP – Thumb | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| De’Aaron Fox (SAC) | 121-114 W vs. SAS | DNP – Covid-19 Protocol | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Today in the NBA
7:30 (NBA TV): 76ers (Maxey) @ Celtics (Freedom)
8:00: Rockets (Wall*) @ Bulls
8:00: Thunder (Gilgeous-Alexander) @ Grizzlies
9:00: Hornets (Washington, Richards) @ Jazz
10:00: Kings (Fox – Out) @ Warriors
10:30: Spurs (Johnson) @ Clippers (Bledsoe, Boston)
PPD: Magic (Mulder) @ Raptors
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